Unbossed and unbought news and information you can use
Volume 9 Issue 14…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…April
7, 2006
Venue
for an Artist
The Human Abstract
By William Blake 1757-1827
Pity would be no more,
If we did not make somebody Poor
And Mercy no more could be,
If all were as happy as we
And mutual fear brings peace
Till the selfish loves increase.
Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.
He sits down with holy fears,
And waters the ground with tears:
Then Humility takes its root
Underneath his foot.
Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of Mystery over his head;
And the Caterpillar and Fly,
Feed on the Mystery.
And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat;
And the Raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.
The Gods of the earth and sea,
Sought thro' Nature to find this Tree
But their search was all in vain:
There grows one in the Human Brain
About Me:
English poet, painter and prophet, William Blake was a revolutionary. His work
was little understood by his contemporaries.
The Cause of Illegal Immigration
By Victor C Forsythe (angelman24@sprintmail.com)
"Every
gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the
final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold
and are not clothed."
(President Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 16, 1953).
The
US government has done everything possible to promote illegal immigration. The
two principal causes are: Number One: The World Bank. The chief mission of this
so-called "Bank" is to bankrupt other nations with loan sharking. If
World Bank loans were any good, why do the nations that get a loan always
default? Because the way in which the loan is given insures that the government
officials will be able to embezzle the loan and place their booty in secret
bank accounts in Europe. Number Two: The so-called Free Trade Agreements such
as NAFTA, which dumped millions of tons of subsidized US corn on the Mexican
economy. It should not take a rocket scientist to figure out that this would
engender massive unemployment in Mexico.
Outsourcing
US factory production to slave labor factories in Communist China is another
important part of the funnel to keep US workers unemployed. Making sure that
the minimum wage is not raised is another part. So, now where does this funnel
lead? Well to the New Roman Empire military machine of course. To avoid having
to institute a draft, the military Industrial complex has to make sure that young
people in search of a job have the fewest job opportunities possible. So, how
do we turn this around? Farm subsidies should only be used in emergency
situations. No more subsidies to the world's richest corporations. The airwaves
belong to We the People, not the highest bidder. Give free airtime to qualified
political candidates from other parties than the Republicans or Democrats. Use
the military budget to free us from fossil fuels. With these reforms the
so-called illegal immigration would not exist.
Bit of
History
Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834)
"The
power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce
subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the
human race. The vices of mankind are active and able ministers of depopulation.
They are the precursors in the great army of destruction; and often finish the
dreadful work themselves. But should they fail in this war of extermination,
sickly seasons, epidemics, pestilence, and plague, advance in terrific array,
and sweep off their thousands and tens of thousands. Should success be still
incomplete, gigantic inevitable famine stalks in the rear, and with one mighty
blow levels the population with the food of the world."
Thomas
R. Malthus was born February 13, 1766 to a prosperous United Kingdom family.
Privately educated before entering Jesus College in Cambridge (1784), he
studied mathematics and earned honors in Greek and Latin. In 1791, he earned a
Masters of Arts degree. On June 10, 1793, he was elected a fellow of Jesus
College, a post he held until his marriage to a first cousin (1804).
In
1797, Malthus was ordained and became an Anglican country parson. He maintained
a lifelong connection with the Church. It is believed he rarely officiated; he
had a speech impediment that resulted from a common familial birth defect -- a
cleft palate.
Based
on observations made during his travels, Malthus disagreed with optimistic
views on improving society expressed by his father, Daniel, and his associates.
In 1798, at the urging of his father, Malthus anonymously published An
Essay on the Principle of Population, as It Affects the Future Improvement of
Society in which he predicted population growth would outpace food supply.
He was identified as the essay's author in subsequent publications in 1803,
1806, 1807, 1817 and 1826.
Malthus'
population principle was based on the notion that the population of humans and
other species, if unchecked, grew exponentially, i.e., 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64,
128, etc., outstripping the food supply, which only increased arithmetically,
i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. Malthus advocated moral restraint, including
late marriage and sexual abstinence, as a check on population growth. Of
special note, this proposed solution was only for the lower socioeconomic
classes, which were seen as responsible for the problem. Malthus also advocated
abolishing the Poor Laws, which provided relief for those most in need. He
believed these measures worked against the long-term interests of the needy. In
the event moral restraint failed, Malthus accepted war, famine and disease as
positive checks on population growth.
Friedrich
Engels, in Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy (1844), called
Malthus' theory "...the crudest, most barbarous theory that ever
existed, a system of despair which struck down all those beautiful phrases
about love thy neighbour and world citizenship." Though severely
criticized by people in nearly every profession, Malthus' theory of population
was greatly influential among classical economists David Ricardo and others;
Malthus' theory forms the basis of classical economic theories of wages and
rents.
Malthus'
pessimistic predictions and concepts of unemployment and diminishing marginal productivity
did much to make economics the "dismal science." Widely regarded as
the founder of modern demography, his theory helped promote the idea of a
national Census in the UK.
In
1805, Malthus became the first professor of political economy at the East India
Company College at Haileybury in Hertfordshire. In 1818, he was selected as a
Fellow of the Royal Society. He held memberships in the Political Economy Club,
the Royal Society of Literature, the French Académie des Sciences Morales et
Politiques and the Royal Academy of Berlin. In 1834, he co-founded the
Statistical Society of London.
His
other works include "An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent"
(1815) and "Principles of Political Economy" (1820). Malthus died of
heart failure December 29, 1834. (Sources: www.voyager.co.nz/~malthi/,
Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1798malthus.htmland
www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/malthus.html)
On receiving a less than favorable progress report, the Dark
Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro lost his privileges and allowance, which were
tied to his academic performance. Clearly unhappy with his impoverished state,
while desiring funds to do all kinds of costly activities during spring break,
the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro wondered, "Do I qualify for indigent
assistance?"
Pianka’s Proposal
It sounds like science fiction, too horrible to contemplate. But, according to
Forrest M. Mims, III, Chairman of the Environmental Science Section of the
Texas Academy of Science, and editor of the Citizen Scientist, some dare give
voice to the unthinkable with gleeful relish. Mims attended the 109th meeting
of the Texas Academy of Science (www.texasacademyofscience.org/)
at Lamar University in Beaumont on March 3-5, 2006.
A modern-day Malthus, world-renowned evolutionary ecologist and lizard expert
Dr. Eric R. Pianka addressed the meeting. According to Mims, a minute before
Pianka began to speak an academy official approached a video camera operator at
the front of the auditorium. At the end of the conversation, the camera
operator pointed the camera lens to the ceiling and walked away. Once Professor
Pianka began his address, the need to keep his remarks private became evident.
The general public will never be ready to hear Pianka's proposal.
Declaring humans are no better than bacteria, Pianka laid out his concerns
about human overpopulation and its devastating impact on the planet. Pianka
warned that saving the Earth required quick drastic measures. Offering no data
to justify his planetary prognosis, Pianka asserted that the only feasible
solution is to reduce Earth's population.
In discarding war and famine as final solutions to the dilemma, Pianka proposed
disease as the most efficient and fastest way to kill the more than five
billions that need to die to solve the population crisis and save the planet
for the elite 10 percent. Pianka dismissed AIDS as an inefficient killer,
because it is too slow. He suggested an airborne Ebola (Ebola reston), because
it is both highly lethal and it kills in days, instead of years.
At the end of Pianka's speech, the audience erupted in appreciative applause.
He was later presented the Academy's 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist award.
Again, the audience of some 400, which apparently shares Pianka's views and
embraces his extermination plan applauded.
In "Meeting Doctor Doom," Mims recounts Pianka's speech and his plan
in the current issue of the Citizen Scientist at www.sas.org.
News You Use
“Real”
Economic Data
A recent survey shows 59 percent of the respondents rate the US economy as bad,
very bad, or terrible. According to Fox News guests, the "liberal"
media is to blame for the public's negative perception. These talking heads
claim that just like they ignore all the great things happening in Iraq, the
"liberal" media are failing to report the great economic news coming
out of Washington. The good news include low unemployment and inflation rates,
rising "average" take home pay, a strong gross national product
(GNP), relatively low interest rates and a robust stock market.
To the contrary, economist Walter J. (John) Williams, who has a pay website at www.shadowstats.com, says `real' unemployment
and inflation numbers, when figured the old-fashioned way, may be two or three
times higher than the government data show. Kate Welling has published an
interview with Williams, a practicing economists, on his number crunching on
the free portion of her site at www.weedenco.com/welling/lilogo.asp.
In the eight-page interview, Williams reveals the government data flaws,
starting with the low unemployment rate. According to Williams, "Real
unemployment right now -- figured the way that the average person thinks of
unemployment, meaning figured the way it was estimated back during the Great
Depression -- is running about 12%. Real CPI right now is running at about 8%.
And the real GDP probably is in contraction."
Not only is the current administration not figuring economic statistics the
old-fashioned way, without obfuscation, the previous administration
systematically manipulated employment data to show an average 250,000 jobs a
month were created. As shown by the recent survey, the public is not fooled by
the systematic data manipulation.
Following their government, which is more than $8.3 trillion in debt and shows
no inclination to end deficit spending, US households are deeply in debt and
saving nothing. Unlike the government, households cannot print money, and their
ability to borrow against home equity is rapidly ending. In addition, the
public knows the dollar buys less, despite the "official" low consumer
price index (CPI). Moreover, they are also aware that the unemployment numbers
do not reflect conditions on the ground. There are more poor people; the number
of homeless persons, foreclosures and personal bankruptcies are increasing.
The Williams' interview is a real eye-opener. It should be required reading for
everyone. Get your copy today!
Disgruntled feels:
Deceit! According
to the Bush administration, average take home pay rose in 2005. By most
estimates, real wages fell, even as corporate profits soared 21.3%. If one
takes a CEO, making more than a million dollars, and ten minimum wage earners
and averages their take home pay, the average exceeds the take home pay of the
ten workers combined. This average take home pay stat, used to tout the good economy,
is the same kind of deception as Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the
Bush administration mantra "illegal immigrants are doing jobs Americans do
not want."
Disgruntled says: Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), the former
House majority leader and exterminator, has decided to call it quits and not
seek reelection. DeLay claimed this decision was taken with the best interest
of the Republican Party in mind. He did not want to chance the loss of his seat
in Congress to Democrats. DeLay made a point of declaring his impromptu
departure had nothing to do with any scandal. DeLay is architect of the
K-Street Project and close associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. No
one conscious believes corruption plays no role in the bug killer bugging out.
Disgruntled wants to know: Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) is receiving media attention
reminiscent of 2000 when challenger Denise Majette defeated her in the
Democratic Primary. If Rep. McKinney hit an officer and is guilty of assault,
why not make the videotape of the incident public?
Mailbox: E-mails, Faxes & Telephone Calls
Email www.nytimes.com A public already groaning
under huge deficits does not need more red ink. An oil industry already rolling
in record profits does not need more tax breaks. But both are sure to happen
unless some way can be found to claw back from a decade's worth of
Congressional and administrative blunders, aggressive lobbying and industry
greed. According to a detailed account in Monday's Times by Edmund L. Andrews,
oil companies stand to gain a minimum of $7 billion and as much as $28 billion
over the next five years under an obscure provision in last year's giant energy
bill that allows companies to avoid paying royalties on oil and gas produced in
the Gulf of Mexico.
Email
don.stacey@comcast.net "The
vulnerability of large numbers of home owners is primarily due to what are
known as "suicide mortgages." As the bubble raged, buyers stretched
to purchase homes and now have little or no flexibility to cope with adverse
developments. One adverse development is the rapidly approaching day when
Adjustable Rate Mortgages will be re-set to reflect higher interest rates. That
will squeeze homeowners as the monthly payment rises substantially. Here are a
few attributes of "suicide mortgages" that fueled the housing bubble:
Interest only, no down payment, no doc or "liar's loans," adjustable
rate mortgages (ARMs) and negative amortization loans."
Email
1wonderswhy@yahoogroups.com -
With the US trade deficit at a record high and global interest rates rising,
East Asian economies need to be prepared for a possible sharp slump in the
value of the dollar, the Asian Development Bank warned. 'Any shock hitting the
US economy or the global market may change investors' perceptions given the
existing global current account imbalance,' Masahiro Kawai, the ADB's head of
regional economic integration, told reporters. 'Our suggestion to Asian
countries is: don't take this continuous financing of the US current account
deficit as given. If something happens then East Asian economies have to be
prepared. The possibility of a US dollar collapse or sharp decline may be small
at this point but it would generate very significant turmoil so East Asian
economies ought to be ready for that.'
Email
laborpartypraxis@yahoogroups.com
Illegal Immigration: Corporatists vs. Racists (and Labor is Left Behind)..By
Thom Hartman...The corporatist Republicans ("amnesty!") are fighting
with the racist Republicans ("fence!"), and it provides an
opportunity for progressives to step forward with a clear solution to the immigration
problem facing America. Both the corporatists and the racists are fond of the
mantra, "There are some jobs Americans won't do." It's a lie.
Americans will do virtually any job if they're paid a decent wage. This isn't
about immigration - it's about economics. Industry and agriculture won't
collapse without illegal labor, but the middle class is being crushed by it.
The reason why thirty years ago United Farm Workers' Union (UFW) founder Caesar
Chávez fought against illegal immigration, and the UFW turned in illegals during
his tenure as president, was because Chávez, like progressives since the 1870s,
understood the simple reality that labor rises and falls in price as a function
of availability....Working Americans have always known this simple equation:
More workers, lower wages. Fewer workers, higher wages....
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