Black Friday is the first shopping day after Thanksgiving where a lot of stores have their anticipated "post-Thanksgiving" sales. It was originally called "black" Friday because this was the day that a lot of companies finally broke into "profitability" for the year. Out of the red, and into the black. But this past Friday was black for a different reason. Today, in Valley Stream, New York (20m east of Manhattan)... the day after Black Friday, police are investigating camera footage from a Wal-Mart where a customer stampede led to the death of an employee.
It is not uncommon for some people to wait outside stores at 5am, waiting for the first "Christmas sales" of the year. Gotta get those gifts. Gotta buy stuff. Gotta meet all those expectations. After all, thats what Christmas is all about! Right...? I take it these were people who were not of the mind (as mentioned in my last blog) to just give out hugs and tell people that God loves them.
So, the store opens at 5am, and the crowd of people dont wanna disappoint all those people who are expecting presents. Dont wanna miss their gift. Dont want to see someone else walking off with the last of the Plasma-TV's. So, everyone LITERALLY bum-rushes the door... trampelling the guy who unlocked the door. Four other coworkers were hurt as they attempted to help the guy who was stampeded. Even a pregnant woman had to be taken to the hospital to undergo observations.
And if you find that hard to believe, AFTER THE MAN HAD BEEN REPORTED DEAD... shoppers became irate when they were told that the store would be closing for a few hours.
"I've been waiting on line since yesterday morning!"
(one person was quoted as saying)
Aaaaaaaah... Christmas is here. What a great season! I just feel it in the air. Mmmmmm... you can almost just breathe it in. Smell that love and sharing atmosphere? (Me neither) Aren't people just all-around in better moods? Helping each other? Lending a hand? Not focused on things of little importance? Sacrificing for the benefit of others. Gosh, I love Christmas. Mmm mmmm! It just makes me warm and tingly inside... so much so that I sometimes just break out in song...
"Its the most... wonderful time... of the yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaar!!!"
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Give Thanks Part 1
Just a few words this day before Thanksgivings. I often think of us as Americans... and think of Jesus' parable about the Pharisee and the Publican.
Jesus is speaking to his followers... and tells them a story of two men who go up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, and one a publican. Pharisee's being the men of the day who lived lives in strict adherence to the Law. Like the Sadducees, religious men of the highest respect. In perception of first century Palestine, models of how one should live a good life in the eyes of God. The publicans, on the other hand, were the tax collectors. They were despised of their brethren. The Jews of Jesus' day did not control their country, they were under imperial Roman rule... and the publicans were Jews who collaborated with the Roman empire in taxing the people. So, in choosing these two men for his parable... in the ears of his immediate audience, there is already a clear distinction... as far as how the people would perceive these two men.
The Pharisee goes up and says:
'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
The publican is said to have "stood afar off." He wouldn't even look his head up to heaven. He merely asked:
'God be merciful to me a sinner.'
And Jesus ends the parable by saying,
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
This would have seemed shocking to the people listening... How can a miserable slimy publican be "justified" rather than the Pharisee? The Pharisee's entire life is the work of God. He focuses on living a life in accordance to the Law of Moses. He is the religious leader of the day. This makes no sense.
Jesus didn't say, God forgave them both yet preferred the Publicans prayer more, but rather he said, the Publican went home "justified"(forgiven of sin) rather than the Pharisee. There was no humility in the heart of the Pharisee. He tilted his head upward to heaven, looked up to God and said "I am so glad that you made me like this... and not like him." The tone of his prayer was offensive. The stench of HUBRIS permeated his prayer. "I've done this... and this... and this... look at how good I am, Lord... not like that wretch in the back of the church."
If it was a problem in the poor socio-economic climate of first century Palestine(Israel), then surely it is always a problem the world over. But, as the richest nation on the planet, and as many say... the richest nation the world has ever known, we are ESPECIALLY susceptible to this thinking. I think each person must be ever vigilant! Many a person you talk to do not know humility, and have not seen or heard from him in many many years.
Many a person who holds the poor or impoverished in contempt...
"why can't they work harder like me..."
Many a religious person who holds the sinner in contempt...
"I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers..."
People who look upon what they've done... or who they are... and take great pride in themselves. Who look upon others and hold them in contempt.
Im not a fan of holidays, neither their original (usually PAGAN) incarnation or the silly way they have evolved and are conducted today... ESPECIALLY CHRISTMAS... however, at the heart of it... I do like the concept of Thanksgiving. Not just because of the football, though that is always a plus... but its not decayed and corrupted as the materialism centered Christmas.
If you dont believe me... dont give a single gift to anyone expecting one on Christmas, take any that are given to you, say "I pray that God blesses you" and give a smile and a hug, and see how "Jesus centered" all your closest friends will be then. Yeah, I didn't think so either. But, at the heart of it, Thanksgiving is suppose to be about giving thanks, being humble and appreciative. I can get with that.
So, I hope everyone thinks about that... not just on Thanksgiving, but everyday. To know the difference between sympathy and EMPATHY... to be able to see and understand everyone else's situation... to only go before God with a meek and humble heart... and to take no pride in ourselves... or our actions...
We must always keep a humble heart and think like Paul did when he struggled with his brethren, the children of God... the Israelites... who, unlike himself, had rejected the Christ... rather than judge them or hold them in contempt... he merely thought...
"if not for the grace of God... there... go... I..."
Jesus is speaking to his followers... and tells them a story of two men who go up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, and one a publican. Pharisee's being the men of the day who lived lives in strict adherence to the Law. Like the Sadducees, religious men of the highest respect. In perception of first century Palestine, models of how one should live a good life in the eyes of God. The publicans, on the other hand, were the tax collectors. They were despised of their brethren. The Jews of Jesus' day did not control their country, they were under imperial Roman rule... and the publicans were Jews who collaborated with the Roman empire in taxing the people. So, in choosing these two men for his parable... in the ears of his immediate audience, there is already a clear distinction... as far as how the people would perceive these two men.
The Pharisee goes up and says:
'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
The publican is said to have "stood afar off." He wouldn't even look his head up to heaven. He merely asked:
'God be merciful to me a sinner.'
And Jesus ends the parable by saying,
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
This would have seemed shocking to the people listening... How can a miserable slimy publican be "justified" rather than the Pharisee? The Pharisee's entire life is the work of God. He focuses on living a life in accordance to the Law of Moses. He is the religious leader of the day. This makes no sense.
Jesus didn't say, God forgave them both yet preferred the Publicans prayer more, but rather he said, the Publican went home "justified"(forgiven of sin) rather than the Pharisee. There was no humility in the heart of the Pharisee. He tilted his head upward to heaven, looked up to God and said "I am so glad that you made me like this... and not like him." The tone of his prayer was offensive. The stench of HUBRIS permeated his prayer. "I've done this... and this... and this... look at how good I am, Lord... not like that wretch in the back of the church."
If it was a problem in the poor socio-economic climate of first century Palestine(Israel), then surely it is always a problem the world over. But, as the richest nation on the planet, and as many say... the richest nation the world has ever known, we are ESPECIALLY susceptible to this thinking. I think each person must be ever vigilant! Many a person you talk to do not know humility, and have not seen or heard from him in many many years.
Many a person who holds the poor or impoverished in contempt...
"why can't they work harder like me..."
Many a religious person who holds the sinner in contempt...
"I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers..."
People who look upon what they've done... or who they are... and take great pride in themselves. Who look upon others and hold them in contempt.
Im not a fan of holidays, neither their original (usually PAGAN) incarnation or the silly way they have evolved and are conducted today... ESPECIALLY CHRISTMAS... however, at the heart of it... I do like the concept of Thanksgiving. Not just because of the football, though that is always a plus... but its not decayed and corrupted as the materialism centered Christmas.
If you dont believe me... dont give a single gift to anyone expecting one on Christmas, take any that are given to you, say "I pray that God blesses you" and give a smile and a hug, and see how "Jesus centered" all your closest friends will be then. Yeah, I didn't think so either. But, at the heart of it, Thanksgiving is suppose to be about giving thanks, being humble and appreciative. I can get with that.
So, I hope everyone thinks about that... not just on Thanksgiving, but everyday. To know the difference between sympathy and EMPATHY... to be able to see and understand everyone else's situation... to only go before God with a meek and humble heart... and to take no pride in ourselves... or our actions...
We must always keep a humble heart and think like Paul did when he struggled with his brethren, the children of God... the Israelites... who, unlike himself, had rejected the Christ... rather than judge them or hold them in contempt... he merely thought...
"if not for the grace of God... there... go... I..."
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The Beggar's Waltz (REVISITED)
While watching Bill Moyers Journal (click here) the week immediately following my blog about growing wealth disparities in this nation, Bill referenced an OECD press conference that came out on October 21st addressing world wide poverty and wealth inequality. (Full press release here and the US specific data here) It was so weird, like a sad official confirmation of my concerns about inequality... and only a week after I mentioned the same subject! But, what is the OECD? To be honest, I had no clue at that time, but the OECD is the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, currently consistening of THIRTY countries, regularly giving cumulative data and suggestions about improving the quality of life around the world.
The United States had the 3rd highest inequality level and poverty rate only behind Mexico and Turkey. Some people did not believe my claim that one third of Americans (not in 1928, but in 2008!) make less than $15,000 per year. Thats one out of every three Americans. Musical chairs anyone? That is scary to me. Per the OECD findings, the bottom 10% of Americans earn $5,800/yr... which was 20% lower than the average earning of the bottom 10% in all other OECD nations. Wealth disparities have jumped 20% since the 80's. [Good ole' trickle down Reaganomics] Redistribution of wealth in America by the government is the second lowest of all OECD nations, behind only South Korea. Because our middle class leaders like Joe the Plumber are waaaaaaaaaaay too smart to fall for that liberal government intervention nonsense called "socialism." You can check the "click here" links for more of the (depressing?) news. Go free market capitalism!
The question is... where do we go from here. The current economic crisis has been compared to the stock market collapse of 1929, and there are some similarities and differences. First, lets point out that, at its peak... in the early 30's unemployment reached 25%. So, the severity of today is far lower. The most interesting similarity that I've noticed is that both financial collapses were preceeded by periods of great economic inequality. (I shall not point out which party was in control during both of these periods.) Those periods being... the 1910's and 20's, and our current period from the 1970's until today. The less evenly the wealth is distributed, the more the working class of America is forced to rely on credit. We've all heard of the roaring 20's, but was it "roaring" for everyone or just a select aristocratic upper class? After Herbert Hoover was thrown out of office in 1932, FDR came in and the size of the government ("the New Deal") increased dramatically. [And all the Republicans grimaced!] There was Social Security for all Americans, there were new jobs created as attempted modernization put many Americans to work, & (as I've mentioned many times) the GI Bill. Various government interventions helped CREATE a "middle class" where once we only had a working class and upper class.
The wealth gap decreased from the 1930's all the way through the 1970's. Then in the 70's it began to grow again until we got to where we are now. According to the Department of Labor's (click here) October 2008 summary, America lost a quarter MILLION jobs in October alone. We lost 284,000 jobs in September, and we lost 127,000 jobs in August. According to the Department of Labor, 1.2 million jobs have been lost in the United States in the first 10 months of 2008. There are 300 million Americans. How many are of working age? 200 million people? More than a million jobs have left our nation in the last ten months. Wow!
In the 40's, Europe's post war decimation (and restoration) cost it lots of jobs, a gread deal being manufacturing. Jobs the rest of the (modernizing?) world was not yet in a position to fill. After WWII, America was the worlds largest manufactuer, which helped to boost our economy and grow our fledgling "middle class." I remember having a shirt that just said "Made in the USA." That was the logo, not just something on the sticker inside the shirt. But what about today? Compared to 60 years ago, manufacturing jobs can now leave for all different parts of the world, and with cheaper wages overseas, jobs that were once in Europe, and then in America, and are now gone... I dont foresee coming back.
Hopefully we will seize the green technology movement (if Obama sees this as his new millenium version of "the New Deal"?) and create "green jobs" and become a leader there, or else, I fear we will lose more jobs to places with universal healthcare (because the employer in other nations saves a lot of money when he doesn't have to pay his employees health beneifts) and generally lower wages. With stagnant wages, higher unemployment, and rising costs of living here in the US... this current crisis is largely a product of higher dependency on credit and the inability to afford (i.e. homes)...
...but who is addressing our growing inequality in this nation and the cause of people relying more on credit. Aside from reading print, like US News and World Report, (good mag, by the way) I have not heard ONE commentary from a single mainstream news outlet even MENTION rising income and wealth disparities in our nation and this trend we've experienced over the last 35+ years. Will we once again become a nation with a very large working class, few middle class and a select few upper class aristocrats?
Dont make me speculate on it :*(
The United States had the 3rd highest inequality level and poverty rate only behind Mexico and Turkey. Some people did not believe my claim that one third of Americans (not in 1928, but in 2008!) make less than $15,000 per year. Thats one out of every three Americans. Musical chairs anyone? That is scary to me. Per the OECD findings, the bottom 10% of Americans earn $5,800/yr... which was 20% lower than the average earning of the bottom 10% in all other OECD nations. Wealth disparities have jumped 20% since the 80's. [Good ole' trickle down Reaganomics] Redistribution of wealth in America by the government is the second lowest of all OECD nations, behind only South Korea. Because our middle class leaders like Joe the Plumber are waaaaaaaaaaay too smart to fall for that liberal government intervention nonsense called "socialism." You can check the "click here" links for more of the (depressing?) news. Go free market capitalism!
The question is... where do we go from here. The current economic crisis has been compared to the stock market collapse of 1929, and there are some similarities and differences. First, lets point out that, at its peak... in the early 30's unemployment reached 25%. So, the severity of today is far lower. The most interesting similarity that I've noticed is that both financial collapses were preceeded by periods of great economic inequality. (I shall not point out which party was in control during both of these periods.) Those periods being... the 1910's and 20's, and our current period from the 1970's until today. The less evenly the wealth is distributed, the more the working class of America is forced to rely on credit. We've all heard of the roaring 20's, but was it "roaring" for everyone or just a select aristocratic upper class? After Herbert Hoover was thrown out of office in 1932, FDR came in and the size of the government ("the New Deal") increased dramatically. [And all the Republicans grimaced!] There was Social Security for all Americans, there were new jobs created as attempted modernization put many Americans to work, & (as I've mentioned many times) the GI Bill. Various government interventions helped CREATE a "middle class" where once we only had a working class and upper class.
The wealth gap decreased from the 1930's all the way through the 1970's. Then in the 70's it began to grow again until we got to where we are now. According to the Department of Labor's (click here) October 2008 summary, America lost a quarter MILLION jobs in October alone. We lost 284,000 jobs in September, and we lost 127,000 jobs in August. According to the Department of Labor, 1.2 million jobs have been lost in the United States in the first 10 months of 2008. There are 300 million Americans. How many are of working age? 200 million people? More than a million jobs have left our nation in the last ten months. Wow!
In the 40's, Europe's post war decimation (and restoration) cost it lots of jobs, a gread deal being manufacturing. Jobs the rest of the (modernizing?) world was not yet in a position to fill. After WWII, America was the worlds largest manufactuer, which helped to boost our economy and grow our fledgling "middle class." I remember having a shirt that just said "Made in the USA." That was the logo, not just something on the sticker inside the shirt. But what about today? Compared to 60 years ago, manufacturing jobs can now leave for all different parts of the world, and with cheaper wages overseas, jobs that were once in Europe, and then in America, and are now gone... I dont foresee coming back.
Hopefully we will seize the green technology movement (if Obama sees this as his new millenium version of "the New Deal"?) and create "green jobs" and become a leader there, or else, I fear we will lose more jobs to places with universal healthcare (because the employer in other nations saves a lot of money when he doesn't have to pay his employees health beneifts) and generally lower wages. With stagnant wages, higher unemployment, and rising costs of living here in the US... this current crisis is largely a product of higher dependency on credit and the inability to afford (i.e. homes)...
...but who is addressing our growing inequality in this nation and the cause of people relying more on credit. Aside from reading print, like US News and World Report, (good mag, by the way) I have not heard ONE commentary from a single mainstream news outlet even MENTION rising income and wealth disparities in our nation and this trend we've experienced over the last 35+ years. Will we once again become a nation with a very large working class, few middle class and a select few upper class aristocrats?
Dont make me speculate on it :*(
Friday, November 7, 2008
Mickey Mouse Wont Comment on Voter Fraud
Well, the election is over, and there are so many things that could be said, but I will only comment on one thing. I was at the polls, and I kept looking, and I was quite shocked. Disappointed even... I was sure I was going to see Mickey Mouse trying to steal the election.
(Mickey when asked about his ties to ACORN)
[ Californian who registered voters charged with fraud ]
For some strange reason, I was concerned about people like Mark Jacoby, who lives in Arizona but travelled to California to register people in a state he no longer lives in (which is illegal) AND purposely decieved them into registering as Republicans without their concent. Silly me... even though this man was ARRESTED the "liberal" media didn't cover this story, OF COURSE ITS NOT A BIG DEAL. Of course...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html
[ States’ Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal ]
I was concerned about states dropping thousands and thousands of people from their voter rolls days before the election as reported by the New York Times, so that when they go to the polls to vote, they find out they are no longer registered to vote.
And the days leading up and the day of the election (JUST LIKE PREVIOUS ELECTIONS) people reported receiving "voter suppression" calls that either their polling place had changed, or that the election date had change. There are many, many, many, many, many, many, examples of such activities. Not only this time around, but especially in Florida in 2000 and in Ohio in 2004.
None of this reported in the mainstream. And if so, only in passing. Clearly... CLEARLY, the "liberal" media knows that these stories are trash. The Real story of voter fraud in America is the collusion between Mickey Mouse and ACORN in their plans to steal the election from the American people.
(Mickey when asked about his ties to ACORN)
Dont let that cute exterior fool you. I watched enough CNN reports to know that this Hollywood liberal was going to do everything in his power to vote in our election. My other concern was people who registered to vote 80 times, who would then clone themselves, and try to vote at the same polling place 80 times. Voter registration fraud is wrong, but, the real concern is VOTER fraud. And since this was a story on the news EVERY... SINGLE... DAY... I know it must have been extremely important. Now, I'm still not quite sure how Mickey Mouse got himself on the voter rolls, and in how many counties he was able to do this, but he'll be walking his 2foot self in the door of all these different polling stations across the nation (that guy runs, REALLY fast) and showing his driver's license(s?), and there will be no stopping him. I know what you're thinking... yes, Mickey Mouse carries thousands of different drivers licenses. Cartoon pants pockets have limitless space in them.
Mickey Mouse, I understand, Im still worried about his nefarious schemes... the people who registered 80times, hmmm... Im still not quite sure how that works, but CNN reported on it, so Im sure there must be some way to vote in the same county 80 times. I think... I'm not sure, but I think the guy clones himself 81 times... dresses one of his clones up like a beligerant homeless person, and the homeless clone causes a distraction while the clone who is at the sign-in table erases his previous signature so it looks like this is his first time in the polling station. Yes, those clones are very cunning. They all carry smudge proof erasable ink pens.
Okay, whew... good, I feel better now. At first, I thought this was just another "trash" entertainment-based news story by the "liberal"(???) media trying to shock/scare people for ratings, but after rationalizing out how a guy can vote in the same precinct 80times in the same day, I really feel this was a legitimate story and Im glad CNN chose to report on it every single day. See, what I initially thought, was that, the leaders of ACORN were just stupid for paying people "per registration," however, in actuality, there was a true plot between Mickey Mouse and ACORN to have fictional animated characters trans-materialize in our carbon-based matter world with all their necessary voting/identification information, walk into voting booths all across the nation, and swing the election. Thats rational. I feel so much better now. Even more so for the intellect of the nation who CLEARLY grasped this and saw the significance of this issue long before I did. I'm so slow...
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE49K0A120081021
[ Californian who registered voters charged with fraud ]
For some strange reason, I was concerned about people like Mark Jacoby, who lives in Arizona but travelled to California to register people in a state he no longer lives in (which is illegal) AND purposely decieved them into registering as Republicans without their concent. Silly me... even though this man was ARRESTED the "liberal" media didn't cover this story, OF COURSE ITS NOT A BIG DEAL. Of course...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html
[ States’ Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal ]
I was concerned about states dropping thousands and thousands of people from their voter rolls days before the election as reported by the New York Times, so that when they go to the polls to vote, they find out they are no longer registered to vote.
And the days leading up and the day of the election (JUST LIKE PREVIOUS ELECTIONS) people reported receiving "voter suppression" calls that either their polling place had changed, or that the election date had change. There are many, many, many, many, many, many, examples of such activities. Not only this time around, but especially in Florida in 2000 and in Ohio in 2004.
None of this reported in the mainstream. And if so, only in passing. Clearly... CLEARLY, the "liberal" media knows that these stories are trash. The Real story of voter fraud in America is the collusion between Mickey Mouse and ACORN in their plans to steal the election from the American people.
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