Where are the Solutions?

Again we are in Pledge-Campaign-Promise-Politicking-Mode and Common Sense seems to have vanished from the scene. Every party and every candidate is promising what they have been promising for eons, just with a few variations and with a lot less options. Less taxes, more taxes, balancing the budget, and so forth. My favorite is "Listening to the Voters" -- when did that happen the last time? Most of the campaign time and money is spent on besmearing the OTHER, never mind on 'solutions.'

That is what I am really missing, Common Sense Solutions. Vague phrases are not solutions. Headlines are not solutions. Touting numbers that no one can verify or even understand is not a solution. Does that mean - worst scenario - that nobody has any solutions? That is what I believe. I am sure there are people who have answers but if they state them out loud they will be disappeared, one way or another. Nobody wants to say or hear the truth. Why are we fighting wars costing trillions? Why can we not tax people making obscene, unspendable amounts of money? Why can we not mandate greener living? Why can we not feed everybody?

The SYSTEM is so screwed up, my solution would be to drop it and start anew. Like untying a knot, you have to start with one loose end. We can do that with proper leadership. Who is out there to lead us?

More on Where do Jobs Come From?

I do not know where I picked this up, but it is still relevant. The last paragraph really scares me - or - it shows a reality we will have to deal with. Good Luck.

I am still looking for the one article/statistic/speech that tells me where the jobs will be coming from. All I can find is how many jobs per year we will have to add to pull even with the employment/unemployment status of many years ago.

"What America needs right now is not economic growth, it's economic development, which is defined as the development of economic wealth of a country for the well-being of its inhabitants. Normally a concept discussed in relation to developing countries, it is now clearly what we need in America after several decades of de-industrialization, union-busting, and exporting of jobs and manufacturing, and a dramatic widening of the gap between the rich and the rest of the population.

It has often been said that India's middle class constitutes a modern developed country the size of Belgium or Austria within a larger Third World country. America's poor constitute a Third World country the size of South Africa within a larger modern developed country. "

Does Rape and Torture Need Definition?

In a recent book group discussion of "Little Bee" (by Chris Cleave) we got stranded at the terms "torture" and "rape" when somebody asked for a definition. Do we really need a definintion of torture which then is subject to tweaking by a phalanx of opinionated lawyers, leading to another discussion altogether and away from the basic question: What is torture? Applying Common Sense I would say, if you hurt me in any way to get something from me that I am unwilling to give, then you tortured me. Basta! as the Italians say. That's it. How much it hurts, what body part you apply it to, how long it lasts, if organs fail or not - is really irrelevant. IT IS TORTURE.

The same goes for rape. If you take what somebody is unwilling to give then it is RAPE. She was asking for it, she dressed provocatively, and other common arguments are -again- irrelevant. It is the ACT we are naming and, hopefully, punishing.

Imagine -- a world functioning based on common sense originating in our pure conscience! How much time, how many words, how many lies, how much suffering we would save ourselves and others. Why is our innate conscience, which knows the difference between whole and unwhole, hidden so deeply? Is it buried by centuries of deception, demagoguery, ignorance and failure to listen and act upon what we are told by the inner voice? Is it ignored by cowardice or inbred callousness? Maybe some genetic re-engineering is in order. We KNOW, and we could act far better than we are. Namaste!

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs -- WHERE?

There is some logic and Common Sense missing in the jobs debate. In my opinion, at least, and I am no economist or the like. So excuse me for a moment while I repeat the mantras on the subject we keep hearing (ad nauseam!): we must create jobs, they must come from the private sector, small businesses need to hire people -- then the numbers will improve. Well, I do not believe this scheme will work. Let's assume small businesses hire lots of people which then in turn produce lots of products (what? may I ask - everything I have bought within the last six months was "Made in China" or in some other cheap-labor country). And who will now buy these products? In volumes that will shore up the economy? With 30 Million people unemployed or underemployed, who has the money to buy anything but the bare necessities?

None of the pundits and/or government officials have mentioned any specifics where these millions of people could be employed and what they are supposed to produce. Last night, on her last day in the White House, the Chair of the President's Economic Advisors, Christina Romer, in an interview aired on PBS, complained very lightheartedly about the lack of aggressiveness in the Administration. Aggressiveness is what we need, I think. New thinking and honest thinking. I would like to see some statistics of the labor market showing the sectors where significant growth could be expected. You experts out there, put on your thinker's hats, rather than keep repeating the empty phrases we keep hearing over and over again. Please give us some hope.

No-Brainer: Freedom of Religion

Really, give me a break, do we have a First Amendment or not? It is very clear in what it states. So any debate about the legality, location, meaning etc of a community center which includes a place of worship is rather unnecessary - and definintely unproductive. Especially if we want to hold on to our (USA) exceptional status as a beacon of ........ (Insert you favorite!).

When people like Newt Gingrich (a historian?) confuse Nazism with a religion it becomes very weird, even more so when a large number of people believe what he and other 'intellectuals' spout in this connection.

Enough said. Please apply Common Sense to what you read and hear. And let me know what you find.

Do you mean what you say?

More and more we find that outrageous statements, which have made it into the public eye, once challenged, are followed by lame excuses such as "I misspoke" "was quoted out of context" "did not mean to say ..." "had no intention to have this meaning ..." "was misinterpreted" "totally misunderstood ..."

Take the following, which was published on Friday, July 9, 2010 by Al Jazeera English (emphasis mine):

'Brawler' General to Lead Centcom
"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil," Mattis said. "You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."
On Thursday, Gates dismissed concerns about the comments, saying appropriate action had been taken at the time - Mattis was reprimanded and told to choose his words more carefully - and the four-star general had learnt his lesson.
Robert Gates, the defence secretary, praised Mattis as "one of the military's most innovative and iconoclastic thinkers" as he announced his recommendation for the post on Thursday."

So, he was told to "choose his words more carefully" rather than to change his "thinking" which I am sure he will not do. Looking at that with Common Sense what does an apology or a 'misspeak' statement really say? 'Oops, I let the cat out of the bag, I should have been more careful. And here is the clean version (which of course is a lie).' In most cases there is no follow-up on the original statement and an analysis of what that statement says about the person who said it. Do you really think that the General will change his attifude, which he developed over his illustrious career?

Look for more examples as you troll through the media. What I find is truly disgusting - especially if it comes from those we have elected or from those they appointed to high offices. People we are supposed to trust and believe in. How? Why?

Just came back from watching "Countdown to Zero", a documentary about the threat of nuclear annihilation we are facing today with even more nations wanting to join the nuclear bomb club and how we must work toward a nuclear free world.
The film is a very loud wake-up call for all of us who still have an intact common sense: Why would anybody on this planet want to produce, stockpile and have at the ready a vast arsenal of nuclear weapons, when all of us should know what happens when one of these horror bombs goes off. Go see for yourself! Most scary aspect of the movie to me was how much enriched Uranium is still floating about and how easy it is to smuggle it around the world.
What also bothers me about the film are some of the sanctimonious quotes by known villains such as Tony Blair, Zbiginiew Brzinsky, Robert McNamara who now speak as if they never really wanted to have anything to do with nuclear weapons. When they were in charge they were the perpetrators who kept uncounted missiles on trigger alert - where they still remain today! All that spells is mutual destruction and no winners. The story in the film goes that these catastrophic weapons must not fall into the hands of the terrorists - I ask, what are they doing in the hands of anybody? If the weapons did not exist they could not fall into anybody's hands. Again that scenario is portrayed as if North Korea, Pakistan or India wants to defend themselves through the deterrent of nuclear weapons that is evil; when 'we' do it, it is justified. The threat is a real threat, no matter who is the threatener! And to pretend that the only danger comes from the terrorists and the rogue states is pure nonsense. All the 'trigger' nations have their weapons at the ready, and that's where the mistake will be made ...
We still want to support the START-Treaty with all our powers. It is a good 'start' and could lead to the eventual elimination of atomic weaponry. But don't hold your breath, yet.