Juxtaposed! News ™ Hot Off the Wire –There’s Something Rotten in Vermont

June 7, 2016 Leave a comment

News Anchor: “Good evening.  From our National News Desk…

We start tonight’s broadcast with a report.  Chip Block has our report from Denmark.”  Bernie Sanders-2

Video w/reporter voiceover: “At a recent presidential debate hosted by CNN, presidential candidate Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders brought up Denmark and the surrounding Scandinavian states when asked to describe what “democratic socialism” means to him.

Sanders: “I think we should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway and learn what they have accomplished for their working people. In Denmark, there is a very different understanding of what ‘freedom’ means.”

 Video w/reporter voiceover: “The senator’s affinity for the Danish society has stretched back years. In 2013, after hosting the Danish Prime Minister on a tour of his home state of Vermont, Sanders wrote an essay praising their model of government.

Sanders wrote, arguing the U.S. could learn from the way the Danes have “gone a long way to ending the enormous anxieties that comes with economic insecurity.”

Sanders: “Instead of promoting a system which allows a few to have enormous wealth, they have developed a system which guarantees a strong minimal standard of living to all — including the children, the elderly and the disabled.”

Video w/reporter voiceover: “But Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen took strong exception to Sander’s statements recently in a speech at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.”

Danish Prime Minister:  “I would like to make one thing clear, Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy.”  Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen

Video w/reporter voiceover: “But it is a market with many differences from the United States. All Danish citizens have access to child care, state-guaranteed medical and parental leave from work, free college tuition in which students receive a paycheck from the government during enrollment, free health care and a generous pension, all of which Sanders supports.

But “free” is actually the wrong word to describe these services. Danes pay some of the highest taxes in the world, including a 25% tax on all goods and services, a top marginal tax rate hovering near 60%. The top tax rate in the U.S., by comparison, is less than 40%.

But there are aspects to the Danish model that you would never see on Sanders’ policy platform. As a small country heavily reliant on trade, Denmark imposes minimal tariffs on foreign goods. Businesses here are only lightly regulated. The corporate tax rate is much lower than in the United States, which has one of the highest in the world. There’s not even a minimum wage in Denmark, although most workers are paid high salaries in large part due to the strength of labor unions. And in the past few years, Danish voters elected a right-of-center government, which has been instituting reforms that have put tighter restrictions on access to the long-held safety net. And here’s what Lars Christensen, a Danish economist known here as an outspoken critic of his homeland’s model has to say:”

Lars Christensen: “When I hear Bernie Sanders talk about himself as a democratic socialist, it’s a little bit 1970s, the major political parties on the center-left and the center-right would oppose many of the proposals of Bernie Sanders on the regulatory side as being too leftist.”

Video w/reporter voiceover: “Few experts here believe that Denmark can long afford the current perks. So Denmark is retooling itself, tinkering with corporate tax rates, considering new public sector investments and, for the long term, trying to wean more people — the young and the old — off government benefits. One critic of the current system is Karen Haekkerup, the Danish Minister of Social Affairs and Integration:

Karen Haekkerup: “In the past, people never asked for help unless they needed it but now people do not have that mentality. They think of these benefits as their rights. The rights have just expanded and expanded. And it has brought us a good quality of life. But now we need to go back to the rights and the duties. We all have to contribute.”

Video w/reporter voiceover: “In 2012, a little over 2.6 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 were working in Denmark.  This represents 47 percent of the total population and 73 percent of the 15- to 64-year-olds.

Yes, you’ve heard correctly. In Denmark, only half of the total population work. Maybe that’s why Danes are so upset with Bernie. While he’s praising a system that has enabled entitlements for an aging and unwilling to work population, Denmark has been hard at work overhauling entitlements, trying to prod Danes into working more or longer or both. Back to you, Todd.”

News Anchor: “Thanks Chip. After the break we’ll take a look at today’s financial headline.  Up next:  an interview with Sycamore Tree Funds CEO Zacchaeus Pure.”

…

Financial News Anchor: “Welcome back.  After markets closed today, the Juxtaposed! ™ News team learned that Sycamore Tree Funds has contracted with Mustard Seed Growth Funds, whose Chief Investment Officer is Jesus.

Zacchaeus moneyNow word on the street has it that Sycamore Tree Funds CEO Zacchaeus Pure has, over the years, allegedly skimmed and embezzled thousands of Roman denarius from the fees paid to Sycamore Tree Funds.  It should be noted that each denarius is about the equivalent of a day’s wage.  If these accusations are true, Sycamore Tree Funds’ clients have much to be angry about.

Our sources also tell us that Sycamore Tree Funds’ board was having second thoughts about having its CEO Zacchaeus Pure solely managing its vast resources, even though the fund’s holdings had grown seven-fold during his tenure as CEO.

Zacchaeus, a well-known and many would say hated member of the financial community had grown Sycamore Tree’s enormous holdings by collecting exorbitant fees from his clients, fees that were well beyond the mandated charges.  Sycamore’s clients are forced to pay Zacchaeus due to strict government regulations imposed upon them “to maintain their security.”

Here’s Lacy Hedge with her interview of Sycamore Tree Funds CEO Zacchaeus Pure.”

Lacy: “Zacchaeus, how is it that you contracted with Jesus?  When did you first become aware of Jesus?”

Zacchaeus: “I became aware of Jesus when many of my clients began talking about the new money manager in town.  Thousands of my clients had attended his seminars. I began seeing my clients carrying “It is More Blessed to Give than Receive” tote bags. 

Like many in town I had heard about the just-in-time dinner meal served at two of Jesus’s life management seminars.  As I mentioned, thousands of my clients had attended these seminars, so, I decided to get my own take on Jesus.  And, as you can see I am a short man.  But that has never kept me from going out on a limb and taking a risk.  I take pride in my ability to be in the right place at the right time.  Zacchaeus tree

Zacchaeus lunchSo…it happened one day that Jesus saw me in a crowd.  He, in fact, called me by name.  I was flattered, of course.  Jesus requested that we have a power lunch at my home. I accepted. Why not?   The rest is, shall we say, history.”

Lacy: “But there is more to the story, isn’t there?  Were your clients happy about your meeting with Jesus? ”

Zacchaeus: “At first no. They were not happy!  They protested outside my home with signs and shouting, “This man is a crony of the Roman Government!” and “Jesus, have no dealings with this man!”

Lacy: “What happened at your lunch with Jesus?”

Zacchaeus: “I listened mostly.  The face to face meeting made all the difference for me. The secondhand knowledge from my clients gave me only a hint of this man’s character.  In my world trust is key.  And from that one-on-one meeting I learned that I could trust Jesus implicitly. I felt completely secure with turning over Sycamore Tree Funds’ money management to Jesus.

So I contracted with Mustard Seed Growth Funds and made Jesus my Fiduciary for life.  I decided to seal the deal with a toast. I announced that I would redeem half my holdings and make a donation to the poor.  And, I would refund to all my clients at least half the fees imposed upon them.  Of course, when my clients heard this they were relieved. Their protest signs went away. I had regained their trust.”

Lacy: “What did Jesus say about your agreement?”

Zacchaeus: “Well, he said that he was very happy to get my commitment and to see me begin to recover the trust I had lost.   He said Sycamore Tree Funds’ turnaround had already begun. He also stated Mustard Seed’s mission statement: ‘to seek and to save lost coins.’  I’m all in.”

Lacy: “Back to you, Todd.”

 

Financial News Anchor: “Thanks Lacy.  Stay tuned.  After the commercial break, today’s winning lottery numbers.”

 

………………..

Here are Your Juxtaposed! News™ Top Stories:

Bernie Sanders’ American Dream is in Denmark

Denmark to Bernie Sanders: ‘Shut Up, We’re Not Socialists!’

Danes Rethink a Welfare State Ample to a Fault

Sorry Bernie: Scandinavia Isn’t Socialist. You Must Be Thinking of France

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

Filed under Current Events 2016, Economics Tagged with , , ,

Hold the Scotch and the Logical Fallacy of Atheism

June 4, 2016 Leave a comment

“One more logical fallacy and we’re done.”

 

This past week I encountered atheists on Twitter.  I noticed one atheist’s snarky scorn of Christians and I responded.

As you’ll see, I engaged him and one other for just a few rounds (please forgive my typos and some bad grammar, I was busy making a living at the same time).  The atheists immediately stop tweeting after dismissing me out of hand:  “One more logical fallacy and we’re done.” Their arguments must have fallen off the edge of the earth, the black hole of unbelief having sucked them away.

The exchange reminded me of a post I put together when Christopher Hitchens’s passed. (This is a long but hopefully informative post.  So, grab some coffee and hold the scotch.)

 

 

 

In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011

As you will see and hear in the video below, Christopher Hitchens’ (Hitch’s) arguments for atheism (exclusively an argument against theism), after many dead-end asides, were centered on his aversion to having anyone telling anyone what to do.  His followers readily know that over the years Hitch has repeatedly taken umbrage on paper or in one-upmanship debates against totalitarianism and against any authoritarian person or religion having a say in his life or in the lives of others. For the record, William Lane Craig (marker 13:59) noted that Hitch despised and hated religion.

 

Hitch was certainly OK, though, with authoritarian imposition upon others if he felt the cause justified removing other authoritarian figures from the lives of those he thought were oppressed.  He, to the horror of the liberal elitists, aligned himself philosophically with G.W. Bush regarding the Iraq war and the war on terror against radical Islamists.

 

The February 2012 issue of Vanity Fair includes Salman Rushdie’s “In Memoriam”, Christopher Hitchens: 1949-2011.” Rushdie wrote about Hitch’s return to the left:

 

“Paradoxically, it was God who saved Christopher Hitchens from the right. Nobody who detested God as viscerally, intelligently, originally, and comically as C. Hitchens could stay in the pocket of god-bothered American conservatism for long.  When he bared his fangs and went for God’s jugular, just as he had previously fanged Henry Kissinger, Mother Teresa, and Bill Clinton, the resulting book, God is not great, carried Hitch away from the American right and back toward his natural, liberal, ungodly constituency.”

 

As a way of life Hitch sought to stand juxtaposed to the universal rule of law (his own conscience) in an antinomian position while at the same time declaring moral diatribes against religious and political authorities he considered too overarching in their imposition. A true Epicurean in his ways, Hitch also liked to keep his conscience well inebriated and his roving moralist eye ever looking elsewhere – looking outside and not within – denial and pretense being typical liberal traits.

 

With atheistic cowardice and hubris, Hitch attacked Mother Teresa, a little old lady. He apparently wanted to feed his prurient desire to neutralize any authority figure (overt or implied) by trying to bring her down several notches in people’s eyes.  Why? He claimed she was pushing her authoritarian teachings onto the helpless. He accused her of hypocrisy in her dealings (an easy, self-serving claim for an atheist to make against any Christian). He may have felt threatened by her devotion to an unseen God and her ability to make things happen for others and doing so as a little old lady.

 

Why would a grown man verbally attack a helpless woman who indeed went about helping others who themselves were under the totalitarianism of poverty and squalor?  Maybe Hitch thought she wasn’t helpless. Maybe it was a direct attack against God. It certainly was an act of unmatched intelligential cowardice. To be sure Mother Teresa fought the unseen authorities of this world (the “powers of darkness”) by physically helping the outcast, the hungry and the hurting with an agape-powered love and not verbal hubris.

 

Hitch, on the other hand, fought the very public “seen” authorities of this world by aligning rhetorically with causes which he felt were important for him. He should have noted that he and Mother Teresa were fighting the same issue – human suffering at the hands of others (whether a dictator or a false religion) -from two different sides. Yet, he chose to denigrate Mother Teresa. I believe he did this because he felt threatened by her belief in the unseen God.

 

Hitch postures that Christians, especially Christian missionaries like Mother Teresa, are hypocrites who say things they know to be true and good but live disconnected lives apart from such truth – their deeds not matching match their words. This argument (?) against God was replayed in his use the La Rochefoucauld quote “hypocrisy is a tribute vice pays to virtue.” Yet, this hypocrisy argument folds in on itself if one were to hold any moral standard at all. Perhaps Hitch, a polymath, saw moral laws as “many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.” (The Raven, Edgar Allen Poe)

 

Clearly Hitch’s excessive lifestyle (his immoderate drinking, smoking, etc. have been noted elsewhere) made his salacious attacks against God all the more the more forthcoming and lubricious.  His lifestyle had also proved his belief in nihilism – life is nothing if not suffering. So he apparently used a “get it while you can” justification to medicate the blows between verbal jousting contests.

 

His liquid lifestyle also spoke to the fact of Hitch’s drive for “freedom” from any limitation imposed on his person including by his own person – his physiology. He chose against himself again and again.  He did this while throwing the world a bone now and then, choosing willy-nilly causes to deflect away any personal soul-searching which might lead to accountability to any higher authority. (see marker 25: 5, If god does not exist then objective moral standards don’t exist – a self-satisfying argument.)

 

Hitch detested dictatorships of all kinds and he did so while as a potentate of his own world. He would not bend the knee to anyone or to anything.  He would fight, as Salmon Rushdie recalled in the same Vanity Fair article remembering his friend, for anyone who was made to do so.  Hitch’s rebellion was against dictatorial authority of any kind and not just in the political and religious realm.  And he certainly rebelled against authority stated as codified truth – the Bible and the recorded history of the resurrection of Jesus.  His moral relativism, stated above, is characteristic of most atheists (and the “ungodly constituency”) since they affirm that no moral standard exists outside one’s self.

 

In the video Hitch asks the universal question posed to theism:  why would a God who was all powerful and good allow suffering?  My answer:  suffering comes out of created man’s free-will choices in a fallen world. God has allowed it for a time but not forever. Justice will be meted out and suffering will end.

 

He continues his disbelief: “Why would God spend eons of time in creating a world that he could set up in a blink of an eye?” He went on to say that Christians are now co-opting evolution theory in accordance with the Creation argument, evolution being a position long held by atheists.  He “christens” this “tactic” or “style” of argument as “retrospective evidentialism” or as a “second thought.” (marker 37:40)

 

As a Christian theist I see no conflict whatsoever with science and creation.  I believe in theistic evolution-a finely tuned theistic universe, a personal cause of the universe and a theistic objective morality. As scientific evidence becomes available it should be used and not discarded.  Beyond scientific proofs, my own belief in God is vindicated every day because I, a rational human being, know that God exists. I continue to pursue Him actively and I submit to His authority. Hitch, on the other hand, fled from any such authority outside of himself and employed his own existentialist belief system where he felt safe from intrusion.

 

Also in the video, Hitch uses the Creationist argument of a literal seven days to say that we as Christians are basically lunatics to believe such things. Again, I see no conflict with a Creationist’s position of a literal seven days and the theory of relativity which could make thousands of millennia appear as seven literal days. But as I mentioned above, I accept theistic evolution, so the point is mute in my case.

 

Hitch takes another jab at Christian theism by invoking his own god-like view point when questioning why God would do what Christian theists believe He did. He balks at the idea (and I’ll paraphrase): “…the eons of time that God has created-evolved – that all of this fine tuning, mass extinction and randomness is the will of a Creator God (marker 40:21) and that all of this happened so that one very imperfect race of evolved primates might become Christian – all of this was “with us in view” is a curious kind of solipsism, a curious kind of self-centeredness.”

 

Hitch jests that he thought Christians were modest and humble, not self-centered with certain arrogance to the assumption that this “was all about us.” And, “The tremendous wastefulness of it, the tremendous cruelty of it, the tremendous caprice of it, the tremendous tinkering and incompetence of it, never mind, at least we’re here and we can be people of faith.” This projection from one who, with his own free will, spoke from a self-centered and solipsistic core throughout his entire life!

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Creator, was always meant to bypass the wise of this earth: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”” (Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church).   A priori rebellion coded as cleverness is found in the Mitochondrial DNA of man.

 

Apart from Hitch’s free-wheeling self-directed solipsism, there is a bounty of sound arguments for theism and William Lane Craig (WLC) highlights them artfully: “No good argument that atheism is true, there are good arguments that theism is true – not via social questions or ethics (marker 16:00).

 

WLC philosophical arguments in quick notation:

 

Cosmological argument:  things exist, not nothing; the universe began to exist not infinite, not eternal – Big Bang Beginning, ex-nihilo, a cause by an UnCause beyond space and time; David Hillburg – The infinite; there must be a cause of creation. This Being must be uncaused, timeless, space unfathomable & personal and not abstract thought or object; The universe has begun to exist and is not infinite, not eternal (astrophysics concur); Past event are real, there must be Personal creator of the universe, transcendent intelligent mind

 

Teological argument: (marker 20:00) finely tuned universe – mathematically constants (e.g., gravity) not determined by the laws of nature & the arbitrary conditions (entropy, balance between matter and antimatter); any change in these would be the end of life itself (the atomic weak force being altered)

 

Chance?  Odds are incomprehensibly great, life prohibiting universes are more probable

 

It follows logically by Design – intelligent argument, intelligent designer

 

Moral argument (marker 25: 15):  if god does not exist then objective moral standards don’t exist; if God exists then valid and binding; the morality that has emerged proves that god exists – via moral experience; we understand that there are things that are really wrong.

 

 Historical fact (marker 27:40):  The resurrection of Jesus a historical fact not just a belief; tomb discovered empty eyewitnesses; individuals and groups saw Jesus, appearances to believers and unbelievers; the original disciples believed in the resurrection and Jewish religion believed otherwise about when resurrection occurs; Christian die for the truth of the resurrection (marker 30:26)

 

Experiential knowledge:  The experience of God or claim to know that God exists – properly basic beliefs part of a system of beliefs including the belief of an external world; context of physical objects; grounded in our experience of God; God immediate reality

 

Hitch responds (marker 33:16): “arguments the same across religions – belief in God but differences; presuppositionalists (by faith) and the evidentialists a distinction without a difference.”

 

As you will note Hitch’s arguments are all basically dismissive of Christian supporting arguments for belief and are not evidentiary in favor of atheism; note his “rather sweet” dismissal of those who believe – that those of faith should have evidence.  (Hitch once again conveniently dismisses the facts of the resurrection and the improbability of causation by chance.)

 

Hitch: “We argue that is no plausible or convincing reason, certainly no evidential one to believe that there is such an entity…all observable phenomena is explicable (marker 42:00); I don’t believe that following the appropriate rituals…

 

“Even if this deity did exist it doesn’t prove that he cared about us…cared who we had sex with …care whether we lived or died… (marker 42:32)

 

“Miracles suspend the natural order – Christians want it both ways (“promiscuous”) (marker 44:00); The natural order – “It is miraculous without a doubt”

 

“I have to say that I appear as a skeptic, I doubt these things.” (marker 46:16)

 

“The theist says it must be true…” Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”;

 

“Too early in the study of biology…to make these claims.”

 

Hitch, the verbal grappler, was as a sound and fury professional wrestler who was agile at avoiding a real match-up with Truth. But now, the fight has ended, the match is over. All that’s left in the empty corner is Hitch’s book “God is Not Great” and an empty bottle of Scotch.

Filed under Atheism, Christianity Tagged with ,

Juxtaposed! News ™ Hot Off the Wire – Safe Spaces

May 26, 2016 Leave a comment

Safe_Space_300

News Anchor:  “Good Evening.  We start tonight’s news with a special report: Campus ‘Safe Spaces.”

Video w/reporter voiceover:   “When Brown University president Christina H. Paxson, announced that the university would hold a simultaneous, competing talk to provide “research and facts” about “the role of culture in sexual assault” student volunteers put up posters advertising that a “safe space” would be available for anyone who found the debate too upsetting.

Katherine Byron, a senior at Brown University and a member of its Sexual Assault Task Force, considers it her duty to make Brown a safe place for rape victims.”

Byron:  “A “safe space” is intended to give people who might find comments “troubling” or “triggering,” a place to recuperate. I provide a room equipped with cookies, coloring books, bubbles, Play-Doh, calming music, pillows, blankets and a video of frolicking puppies, as well as students and staff members trained to deal with trauma.

Emma Hall, a junior, rape survivor and “sexual assault peer educator” who helped set up the room and worked in it during the debate, estimates that a couple of dozen people used it. At one point she went to the lecture hall to listen in but feeling overwhelmed, she returned to the safe space.

Hall:  “I was feeling bombarded by a lot of viewpoints that really go against my dearly and closely held beliefs.”

Reporter:  “Now the safe space concept seems to be growing and encompassing larger ground on many campuses.  Last fall the president of Smith College, Kathleen McCartney, apologized for causing students and faculty to be “hurt” when she failed to object to a racial epithet uttered by a fellow panel member at an alumnae event in New York.

“The offender was the free-speech advocate Wendy Kaminer, who had been arguing against the use of the euphemism “the n-word” when teaching American history or “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” In the uproar that followed, the Student Government Association wrote a letter declaring that “if Smith is unsafe for one student, it is unsafe for all students.”

Kraminer:  “It’s amazing to me that they can’t distinguish between racist speech and speech about racist speech, between racism and discussions of racism.”

 

After we come back… “Taking the fear out of bathrooms.”

locker room

….

News Anchor:  “A leading North Carolina newspaper issued an editorial last week telling girls to attempt “overcoming discomfort” at the sight of “male genitalia,” should transgender bathroom laws be enacted.

Video w/reporter voiceover:   “In a defense of President Obama’s order compelling schools to allow access to restrooms on the basis of gender identity, the Charlotte Observer editorial board compared the discomfort of school-aged girls seeing male genitalia in locker rooms to the discomfort of white people being around black people in post-segregation America.”

Here is what The Charlotte Observer May 13th editorial had to say:  Quote:”This is what the Obama administration nudged the rest of the country toward Friday. Yes, the thought of male genitalia in girls’ locker rooms – and vice versa – might be distressing to some. But the battle for equality has always been in part about overcoming discomfort – with blacks sharing facilities, with gays sharing marriage – then realizing that it was not nearly so awful as some people imagined” .End quote.

While admitting that exposure to male genitalia is a possible outcome of transgender bathroom laws, the editorial went on to say that the notion that such laws constitute a threat to the privacy and safety of women and children is a “political fiction” pushed by Republicans.”

safe space 2

News Anchor:  “Join us later tonight for our special report ‘Possession is nine tenths of the law.’”

Thank you for watching.  Good night.”

…

Here are Your Juxtaposed! News™ Top Stories”

In College and Hiding from Scary Ideas

Charlotte Observer: Girls Must Overcome ‘Discomfort’ of Seeing ‘Male Genitalia’ in Locker Rooms, Taking the fear out of bathrooms

Filed under Culture, Current Events 2016 Tagged with , , ,

Just Juxtaposing! 5-24-2016

May 24, 2016 Leave a comment

bernie-sanders-supports-factor-campaign-r

“Good evening.  From our National News Desk, our top story tonight…”

“The Bernieverse:  Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign:”

Video w/voiceover:   “.  On Sunday night the chant from thousands in the stands was certainly loud, clear and heartfelt: “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie!””

Sanders: “Real freedom includes economic security. That was Roosevelt’s vision 70 years ago. It is my vision today. It is a vision that we have not yet achieved, and it is time we that we did.”

Video w/voiceover: “Sanders went on to speak of Medicare for all, tuition-free public college, a $15 minimum wage –  a host of ideas intended to help America’s poor and middle class. Ideas that define his vision of socialism, a vision he says that will require top down centralized government with him as president to produce the desired outcomes.”

Sanders: “The only way we bring about real change is to create a political revolution where millions of people stand together and say loudly and clearly that this country belongs to all of us.”

 

“And in international news…”

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

 “Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has placed Venezuela under a “State of Exception and Economic Emergency.”

“Maduro, also president of The United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has blamed capitalism for speculation that is driving high rates of inflation and creating widespread shortages of staples.  He has often said that he was fighting an “economic war”, calling newly enacted economic measures “economic offensives” against political opponents that he and loyalists state are behind an international economic conspiracy.

Video w/voiceover:  On Tuesday, a state-funded news service reported Maduro’s threat to dissolve the national legislature, which the opposition party won in a landslide election last December. “The National Assembly has lost political validity,” Maduro told reporters. “It’s a matter of time before it disappears.”

But Maduro is probably beyond saving. At this point, only 15 percent of his fellow citizens approve of his government. Political protests roil the streets, and normally law-abiding citizens have resorted to looting to get their hands on basic necessities. The government has responded with force.

Venezuela’s hospitals lack not only medicine but even soap, and cannot keep patients — especially at-risk infants — alive amid constant blackouts. Infant mortality rose by a hundredfold in 2015 from its 2012 levels, and five times as many women now die in childbirth. When his political opponents passed a law allowing foreign aid to prop up Venezuela’s hospital system, Maduro blocked it, calling Venezuela’s healthcare system the envy of the world.

Government agencies are now open only two days a week, as a cost-saving measure. The economy is in collapse, in the midst of its second straight year of double-digit contraction. Everyday items, including food, have long been difficult to buy in Venezuela, but they are now becoming impossible to find. Government-imposed price controls, combined with an astounding 700 percent inflation rate, have made toilet paper so scarce that it’s more valuable by the square inch than the Venezuelan currency one must use to buy it.

“Venezuela has been ranked as the top spot globally with the highest misery index score in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In 2014, Venezuela’s economy entered a recession.”

 

“After the commercial break, we take a look at this country whose future you won’t believe.”

Supermarket staff work next to partially empty shelves of toilet paper in Caracas May 16, 2013. Supplies of food and other basic products have been patchy in recent months, with long queues forming at supermarkets and rushes occurring when there is news of a new stock arrival. The situation has spawned jokes among Venezuelans, particularly over the lack of toilet paper. The government announced this week it was importing 50 million rolls to compensate for "over-demand due to nervous buying." REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXZPIP

Supermarket staff work next to partially empty shelves of toilet paper in Caracas May 16, 2013. Supplies of food and other basic products have been patchy in recent months, with long queues forming at supermarkets and rushes occurring when there is news of a new stock arrival. The situation has spawned jokes among Venezuelans, particularly over the lack of toilet paper. The government announced this week it was importing 50 million rolls to compensate for “over-demand due to nervous buying.” REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) – RTXZPIP

Video w/Voiceover: “Venezuela Reaches the Final Stage of Socialism: No Toilet Paper””

“And at ten o’clock, our special report “Soda-less Socialism.””

Video w/Voiceover: “Sugar shortage forces Venezuela to stop producing Coca Cola as country struggles to fight crippling recession. Venezuelans struggle to get food, toilet paper, medicines.”

…

Your Security News Headlines:

Bernie-mania spreads to Texas as Sanders’ speech draws crowd of 5,000

Venezuela is ‘democratic socialism’ in action

Venezuela Reaches the Final Stage of Socialism: No Toilet Paper

Now Coca Cola! Sugar shortage forces Venezuela to stop producing soda as country struggles to fight crippling recession

Europe’s unemployment crisis is much worse than you thought

Breaking – Small Democratic Socialist town in middle of nowhere 8th most expensive to raise family

Filed under Culture, Current Events 2016, Economics, Political Commentary, Politics Tagged with , , , ,

The Miracle Workers – Engineers

May 22, 2016 Leave a comment

 

 “Go and tell John [the Baptist], replied Jesus, “what you’ve seen and heard.  Blind people are seeing! Lame people are walking! People with virulent diseases are being cleansed! Deaf people can hear again! The dead are being raised to life!  And – the poor are hearing the good news!  And God bless you if you’re not upset by what I am doing.”  From Matthew’s Gospel account 11 v. 5

 

“The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever. Don’t abandon me—for you made me.”  Psalm 138 v. 8

 

>>>

I’ve worked as an engineer for most of my life.  I work in a field where I don’t get to hear directly from those who benefit from my work.  Yet, I take pleasure in doing good work, knowing that my detailed designs bring about a better life for hundreds of thousands even though they most likely take no account of where the benefit derived.

In a world of chronic whining, ingratitude and deconstructionism, I am grateful when I hear and see things which are constructive and about those miracles that change things for the better.

Now, one might suppose from reading the Scripture that miracles are instantaneous.  Point your finger and BAM!  Life is changed for the better.  But the greater reality is that most miracles take time and use human input.  See below.

There is great joy to be found in the noble engineering work of others. I think you will see what I mean after watching these videos.

 

I’ve saved the adorable for last:

Filed under technology Tagged with , , , ,

Just Juxtaposing

May 20, 2016 Leave a comment

 

“Good evening.  From our National News Desk, our top story tonight…”kindergartner-suspended-bubble-soap-gun-b

“A 5-year-old girl was suspended from kindergarten on Monday for bringing a bubble gun, a popular plastic toy sold at stores across Colorado, to Southeast Elementary School.”

“The girl’s mother said she was shocked when she got a call from the school telling her she needed to pick up her daughter and take her home.”  “It blows bubbles,” she told Security News.

Live report: “The school is sticking to its guns, calling the toy a safety concern and a classroom distraction.  In a statement released by the school, the school noted its zero tolerance policy to ensure safety:

“The bringing of weapons, real or facsimile, to our schools by students can not only create a potential safety concern but also cause a distraction for our students in the learning process.””

 

 

“And in local news…”ross store

 

“A grown man in blue jeans and tee-shirt and with a five-o’clock shadow was not removed from Ross Clothing Store Monday for bringing himself into a woman’s and girl’s dressing room.”

Live report w/voiceover: “I was in the dressing room, when we heard a man’s voice,” said Lisa Stickles, who says she quickly told a manager.

“She went inside the dressing room, came right back out and called me to the side and told me… he was representing himself as a woman today,” Stickles said.

Reporter:   “A customer service representative with Ross would not comment on the alleged incident but said they do not discriminate against the transgender community; adding, customers may use changing rooms that apply to their gender identity.

Video: “What about me? Or my feelings?” said Sickles. “The manager told me that if I felt uncomfortable in the dressing room with him there… I’d have to wait until he’s finished.”

Reporter: “Sickles said she waited, and was shocked when she watched the man walk out.”

Video: “He was in no way dressed as a woman,” Sickles said. “He had on jeans, a t-shirt, 5 o’clock shadow, very deep voice. He was a man.”’

 

“And now for the weather…

Tonight’s weather is brought to you by MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and its Global Studies and Language Institute.

GSL provides cutting-edge research on international cultures and cultural globalization and to prepare students to be engaged global citizens, ready to live and work in an increasingly globalized and multicultural world.

After the commercial break weatherman Ghassan Hage, a Future Generation Professor in the School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Social Inquiry at the University of Melbourne, will give you the full weather forecast.”

Voiceover: “Is ISLAMOPHOBIA accelerating global warming? “

 

 …

Your Security News Headlines:

 

Kindergartner suspended for bringing bubble gun to class

Shopper Upset Man Allowed to Use Women’s Dressing Room In Ross

Is ISLAMOPHOBIA accelerating global warming? 

Filed under Culture, Current Events 2016 Tagged with , , , , , ,

The Attack of the 50 Foot Manned-Woman

May 13, 2016 Leave a comment

 

… coming to a bathroom near you. attackgif1

 

“There are eight million stories in the naked city; this has been one of them.”

Nancy Fowler Marcher, Alias: The Fifty Foot Manned-Woman

Nancy was in turmoil because everyone publically knew her business, even the news would report on her choice of bathroom.

attack_of_the_50_foot_woman_5_

…

Narrator: “It seems Ms. Marcher was always having some type of drama going on.  She was tormented about which bathroom to use.  Her face was always gripped in some emotional state.  The only time this wasn’t true was when she was sedated with therapy.”

 

Doctor Flushing: “I’ve known Nancy since she was born.  Those days she was a beautiful child.  Fresh, young, full of the joys of life.  But in the last few years, after her coming out, she changed.  Her health seemed to rise and fall with the tide of her emotions.”

Nurse Fess: “A very sad case.  A case not infrequent in this super ego age we live in.”Attack_50ft_Woman-nurse2

Doctor Flushing: “I’m afraid I was unwise in advising her about the different plumbing available.”

Nurse Fess: “Who knows, doctor?  She’ll go to the bathroom one way or the other. Time is on our side.”

 Doctor Flushing: “When kids reach the age of maturity, mother nature sometimes overworks their frustrations to the point of irrationalism.”

 

Mr. Harry Marcher (Nancy’s dad): “What made my Jim grow like that? “

Doctor Flushing:  Besides the psychological instability which has led to the bathroom fixation…I don’t know.  I sent her, err, I mean him, to a specialist – Dr. Victor Lowdown.

 

Mr. Harry Marcher: “Dr. Lowdown, you mentioned that Jim began growing like that when he got angry. Clearly it is stress related.  And, your blood tests show that his confusion levels are abnormally high.”

Dr. Victor Lowdown: “Yah.  A high confusion level in the blood stream has a way of growing things way out of proportion.”

Mr. Harry Marcher: “Congratulations, Doctor. Now you’ve confused me.”

attack_of_the_50_foot_woman_6_

Nancy Marcher: “The world is my doll house, Dr. Flushing.”

Nancy Marcher: “Dr. Lowdown, I’m not saying the old Jim isn’t there.  I can still hear him inside me, stumbling in the dark, always lifting the seat, always apologizing.  But less and less. Less and less.

 

Airman #1: “It doesn’t seem right to fire an air-to-ground missile at a woman.”

Airman #2: “No woman will be harmed.  A few sacred cows will be, though.   Think of your target as a man marking out his territory in the ladies room. That’s what I do.”

Nancy Marcher: “I’m going to pop your heads like a Concord grape!”

People always called Nancy a man…They’ll never do that again!

People always called Nancy a man…They’ll never do that again!

 

Narrator:  Nancy’s booming voice never changed.   It could be heard echoing in women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and showers across the naked city.  As the 50 Foot Manned-Woman, Nancy was aloof and aggressive, always pissing on the ones she wanted revenge on.

 

Coming to a theater near you!

The Attack of the Safe Spaces

Forbidden Toilet

Obama to Order Public Schools: Allow Transgender Students Access to Bathrooms

Obama to Order Public Schools: Allow Transgender Students Access to Bathrooms

 

…

Obama to Order Public Schools: Allow Transgender Students Access to Bathrooms

Filed under Culture, Current Events 2016 Tagged with , , , ,

Good to the Last Drop?

May 10, 2016 Leave a comment

 

That Terry thought he was a vampire didn’t seem to faze Teresa.  It did faze his parents and friends.

…

A mother tugged a small boy through the outside door.  A teenage girl came out the inner door, crossed the room and left behind the mother and son.  A therapist stuck his head out of the inner door and looked around the room and saw his next client, a thirteen year-old boy.  “Hi, come on in.”  The boy dutifully followed the therapist.  A fiftyish woman came in the outside door and proceeded over to the glass window to check in with the clinic’s receptionist. Terry no longer paid attention to the ebb and flow of people in the clinic’s lobby.  Waiting for psychologist Teresa to claim him, Terry sat in the lobby as he had ninety-nine times before and always dressed in black.

“Hi, Terry, come on in.”

Carrying his dog-eared Virtual Gamer magazine Terry shuffled through the held door.

At the beginning Teresa was made aware of his parent’s concerns, their disbelief. When Terry had started to cut his arms and stomach to collect and consume his own fluids, they called N.B. Clinic.  They hoped for some reparative therapy that would bring back their child from the “grave.”  So, Terry’s parents sat down with Teresa.

They wanted to know what triggered Terry’s transformation:  “Was it us?  And what makes Terry sleep walk every night?  And why did he only want play outside at night?”

Terry’s parents related how they would wake in the middle of the night, every night now, to find that Terry had left the house.  He would roam the neighborhood in his black pajamas hissing.  It had to be more than simple parasomnia.

When they did find Terry his face would be covered in blood and the remains of dead cats and dogs were scattered about. The sight and smell of blood gagged them. Terrified by Terry’s manifestation, Terry’ parents wanted to do anything to bring their son back to from this state. He used to play so gently with his stuffed animals.

But after ninety-nine sessions, Terry’s parents were now told to accept their son’s “vampirism”.  As Teresa had explained it on the phone, vampirism was becoming an accepted behavior and that Terry’s self-image and his dignity depended on his being a vampire.  “It is something that he cannot control and it makes him feel human.  Besides,” she said, “it’s likely genetic – Terry’s need for plasma.  He believes that has the ability to extract some kind of energy from living things to strengthen him. I see this kind of thing all the time at N.B. Clinic.”

 

“I wish my parents would accept me the way I am.”

“They are trying, Terry. I met with them recently.  Give them time.”

“I wish everyone would accept me the way I am.  I was born this way, you know, and it’s not what they think.  I know who I am now.  You can see that.   Why can’t others?”

“Well, Terry, the world is not always friendly to minorities.  But there are social justice warriors who are advocating for you right now.  They are making a difference.  Still, there are so many fundamentalists who reject the notion of nocturnal plasma-sucking activities that it is an uphill fight.  Give it time.”

Teresa continued, “But you need to be secure in yourself, Terry.  Last week I gave you information about a local Vampire Community support meeting.  Did you go?”

“Yeah, it was alright.  I got to be myself without having to hide my feelings.  A lot of the kids said they came out of their coffins to their parents.  I just wish my parents and friends… I just wish the whole world was a safe place for me and my friends.”

“You and I both wish that Terry.”

 

 

 

© Sally Paradise, 2016, All Rights Reserved

…

“And what we must not do, what we must never do, is turn on our neighbors, our family members, our fellow Americans for something that they cannot control and deny what makes them human,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch

“This is about the dignity and the respect that we accord our fellow citizens and the laws that we as a people and as a country have enacted to protect them, indeed, to protect all of us,” Lynch said

Filed under Culture, short story, social justice Tagged with , , ,

Five Day Notice

May 8, 2016 Leave a comment

 

When Janet first saw Dashawna, Dashawna was walking up the front sidewalk to the apartment building gripping a baby carrier in her left hand, a diaper bag in her right hand and over her right shoulder was slung a large bulging sack which seemed to stabilize her mid-step.

The apartment building complex where Janet and now Dashawna lived housed a “mix” of those with and without identity clauses.  The “mix” included Hispanics, whites and African-Americans.

Apart from working singles like Janet and Sally, who lived across the hall from Janet and down the hall from Dashawna, most of these residents were low income working class families with a mother and father.  And from all appearances, the apartment families had two parents who each worked. The mother and father could be seen coming and going at different times.

One assumed that the families were saving for a down payment on a house.  And after a few years, as their families and savings grew, they would move on. Janet saw them load up and go.

 

With her boyfriend’s help, Dashawna moved into the single bedroom apartment six years ago.

In such close proximity, Janet had tried to make the acquaintance of Dashawna but Dashawna did not open up much beyond “Hi.” Janet, though, was able talk to her son Kurtis when he passed by in the hall.

One night about two years ago, around 8 PM, the hallway fire alarm sounded. The three single women, Janet, Sally and Dashawna with her son Kurtis, who was now three-years old, bolted out to the hallway to see what was going on.  There was no smoke and no fire was reported by any of the residents.

The alarm had tripped falsely and nobody could shut it off.  Management and maintenance were called.  Finally, the men of the fire department came.  They had to break into whatever they break into to silence the pulsing alarm.

As they waited in the hallway the three women and the boy sat together at the bottom of the stair well, away from the deafening alarm.  Speculation about what set off the alarm created most of the conversation. Janet and Sally learned that Dashawna had called 911 when she heard it. After that Dashawna said little to Janet or Sally.  She huddled with her son. After the first six months, the boyfriend hadn’t been around.

 

A year and a half ago, Janet again saw Dashawna. Dashawna was walking up the rear sidewalk to the apartment building gripping a baby carrier in her left hand, a diaper bag in her right hand and over her right shoulder was slung a large bulging sack.  The sack seemed to stabilize her mid-step. Kurtis skipping, followed his mom.

Twenty-three-year-old Dashawna had no boyfriend to carry a baby mama’s belongings up to the second story apartment. In fact, no boyfriend ever appeared at Dashawna’s door. It occurred to Janet that a boyfriend hadn’t been around since the first year.  But in Dashawna’s twenty-third year a baby came around. The new baby girls’ name:  Nevaeh.

 

A month ago, Janet again saw Dashawna. Dashawna was being carried down the apartment building stairs by men to a stretcher on the front sidewalk.   Dashawna was gripping her face. Anguish and the word “overdose” were what Janet could hear through her blocked door. The paramedics had to balance their steps as they carried the wheel chair down the steps.

Dashawna’s mother arrived hours later to gather her grandchildren from the policemen who had waited. The next day DCFS left their card on Dashawna’s door.

 

Two days later, Janet saw Dashawna’s mother in the parking lot.  “How is your daughter?”

“She’s alright.  She’s down the road at Central DuPage Hospital.  She’ll be coming home on Sunday.  She was just overwhelmed.”

Janet offered to be of help to her daughter, “Dashawna can knock on my door any time.  Two small kids can be overwhelming.” Dashawna’s mother then wrote down her name and cell phone number for Janet to keep “in case.”  Janet has that card today.

Now Janet was aware that Dashawna’s mother, always alone, picked up Dashawna and her kids every Friday night, bringing them to her Chicago home. And every Monday night she, alone, would bring them back to their apartment.  Each journey required the loading and unloading of plastic bags filled with clothes, diapers, toys…a weekend’s needs. The racket of the return home usually awakened Janet from a sound sleep.

 

A week ago Friday, Janet saw Dashawna walking on the front sidewalk to the apartment building gripping a baby carrier in her left hand, a diaper bag in her right hand and over her right shoulder was slung a large bulging sack which seemed to stabilize her mid-step. She was moving out.

A U-Haul was parked on the grass. The man in the front seat smoking a cigarette got out when he saw Dashawna. He followed her up the stairs.  Soon others appeared and began carrying loads to the truck and to their cars.

 

The next day, Janet saw Dashawna’s mother in the parking lot.   Five-year old Kurtis and the year-and-a-half year-old Nevaeh were in the back seat of her car. Janet got out her car and went over to say “Hi” to the kids and their grandma.

“Hi, Kurtis.”  “Hi Nevaeh.”  “Why those baby tears?” Janet turned to grandma.

“How are you?”  “Fine.  We’re moving to a three-bedroom apartment just around the block.”

“It’ll be nice to have more room.”

 

Dashawna’s old apartment was cleared out over the next few days.  Two days ago a notice was placed on the door by the landlord. Yesterday Dashawna and her mother and a thirtyish male helped her complete the move. When done Dashawna tore the notice off the door.  Before she did, Janet came out to say goodbye.

 

Janet had a shelf unit that was perfect for her kids “stuff”.  She brought it out to the hallway, knocked on the half-opened door and called to Dashawna. Dashawna finally came out and looked at Janet and said “Oh, Hi.”. It was now apparent to Janet that beneath the zipped hoodie that Dashawna was wearing that she carried another baby. Janet offered Dashawna the shelf unit and her phone number and then wished her well.

Janet saw Dashawna for the last time. Dashawna was walking down the rear sidewalk, away from the apartment building, gripping plastic bags.  The bags seemed to stabilize her mid-step…until further notice.

 

 

 

© Sally Paradise, 2016, All Rights Reserved

…

This is a true story; I am “Janet”.

Filed under Holiday, Mother's day, short story Tagged with ,

Don’t Inherit the Wind, Inherit The Relationship

May 1, 2016 Leave a comment

fiddler47

Or…Looking for Value in All the Wrong Places

 

“There was a ruler who asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit the life of the age to come?”

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“…for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to safely guard all that I have given him until the day of his return.”  The Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 1:12

…

As I read the Scriptures, I have come to the understanding that whenever Jesus talks about money in terms of riches he resets the scale, the metric, by giving ultimate gravity to a Relationship with the Father. And so the reset is offered in the Gospel account of the rich ruler (Luke 18).

“Life of the age to come” is a relationship with the Father.  And all that the Father is is made available to the one who inherits it. Such an inheritance could only be acquired through a transaction made possible because of Jesus’ own relationship with the Father. Legal decisions on the part of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit would be required for such an inheritance.

“Life of the age to come” would perhaps be something perceived by the ruler as a means to continue his power and wealth generation without interference.

When asked by the rich young ruler “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit the life of the age to come?” Jesus first responds by connecting the dots about who he is – the legal authority and means to an inheritance and its Trustee.  Then Jesus reminds the rich man of the gold standard used by his servants in his earthly Kingdom: The Ten Commandments.  The gold standard of his Kingdom is that which orders right relationships – relationships between God and man and between man and his neighbor.

“Why call me ‘good’?” said Jesus to him. “No one is good except God alone.  You know the commandments:  don’t commit adultery; don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t swear falsely; honor your father and mother.”

The ruler responds, “I’ve kept them all,” he said, since I was a boy.”

Thus, the man appears to imply that his accounts are up to date, his credit line is perfect. And like any successful businessman and devout Jew he may have wondered if inheriting “the life of the age to come” would be the return on his moral investment.

It occurred to me that material wealth was often perceived as a “sign” of God’s blessing in those days and as far back as the days of Job. What an inheritance “of life in the age to come” may have meant to the ruler:  a means to further his accumulation of wealth and possessions and influence…. God’s blessing…forever?

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