The Truth about Reducing Unemployment: Washington's Silver Line Metro Extension

by Nomad

Exclusive: In theory, there are practical ways to reduce unemployment. In this post we look at the long-awaited Silver Line Metro extension in Washington D.C shows to see if there can be any lessons to learn about the ways the solutions can get de-railed. 

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Back in 1922, a British Labour politician by the delightful name of Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence wrote a small book named Unemployment, in which he laid out the causes for unemployment and possible solutions. He writes:

What is to be done about the unemployable, the lazy and inefficient workers? Punishment is the device to which large numbers of people fly when they are confronted with a human problem for which they can see no other easy solution ; and punishment sometimes active in the form of imprisonment or chastisement, and some times passive in the form of destitution, has been inflicted on bad workers all down history with the avowed object of making them into useful citizens. It has failed, as punishment usually fails, except as an expression of the vengeance of an outraged society.

Punishment and blaming the victim was not a remedy.  Though millions of Americans will see their unemployment benefits run out this month, few people in their right minds think it would do anything to reduce unemployment. It is merely a irrational way to punish people asking for the minimal assistance from the government.

Among the many points he makes, Lawrence concludes there are no easy answers to the problem of unemployment. Preventive measures require a degree of forward thinking not found in most governments. By the time an unemployment problem becomes prevalent, it is, he says, usually too late. As long as nations have booms and busts, there will be cycles of unemployment.

However he does suggest that when unemployment is widespread, it should be seen as an opportunity to overhaul the infrastructure of the country. The costs, Lawrence suggests, would "probably be borne partly by loans to be repaid out of receipts and partly by increased taxation spread over a period of years." 

In other words- gasp!- deficient spending and taxation. And so what, Lawrence says. This kind of relief work shouldn't be considered be wasteful since it would, if well-considered, become part of a larger investment in the nation itself. In both the long term and short term, there would be winners.

So let's take a look at what happened in the US when this solution was attempted. When we look at the one of the largest infrastructure projects - the Dulles Metro Extension- in the nation - the Dulles Metro Extension- we can make some interesting observations.

Why Limbaugh's Attacks on Pope Francis are an Assault on Christian Faith

by Nomad

When radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh castigated the Pope for being "Marxist," the hate radio DJ didn't mention that Pope Francis' statement on economic inequality was actually based on long-established Christian doctrine.

Those principles go back to the origins of religion. In criticizing the head of the Catholic faith, Limbaugh was attacking the very foundation of the Christian faith.

The other day, Rush Limbaugh passed his own judgement on Pope Francis' papal statement, entitled 'Evangelli Gaudium" (The Joy of Gospel). Limbaugh told his radio audience that the pope's words were straight-out Marxist. Shocking!

This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope... And to hear the pope regurgitating this stuff, I was profoundly disappointed. The idolatry of money, urging "politicians to 'attack the structural causes of inequality' and strive to provide work, health care and education to all citizens."

Limbaugh suggested that the Pope's remarks must have been written for him by a liberal. He also blasted the Pope's analysis on the so-called "trickle-down" economics.

So reading what the pope's written about this is really befuddling because he's totally wrong -- I mean, dramatically, embarrassingly, puzzlingly wrong.

Here's another excerpt. "Pope Francis said that trickle-down policy..." We hear about trickle-down policies? "Pope Francis said that trickle-down policies have not proven to work."Oh, but they have.... Trickle-down is human nature! Trickle-down is exactly what happens when you engage in economic activity.... Trickle-down is the magic, and yet here's Pope Francis saying that "trickle-down policies have not been proven to work and they reflect a 'naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power.'"

Promoting the magic of trickle-down economics, (even when the dismal effects are destroying the lives of millions of Americans) is not a very convincing counter argument. Trickle-down economics has surely had enough time to prove its validity and all it has shown is that the wealthy can protect their riches better than the rest of us.
Calling it human nature is hardly an excuse when most religions seek to reform nature of humans. Of course, uplifting the human spirit from the animal level isn't really something Limbaugh knows much about. Obviously.

Harvard Economist or university graduate ... or authority on Christian doctrine.. conservative talk show DJ Limbaugh has decided if it worked for him and all his friends, it's worked for the whole country. Never mind the people who got in the way.

Actually, some of the people who got in the way worked beside Limbaugh.  Clear Channel, Limbaugh's boss, laid off 1,850 workers -9% of its work force- in 2011.
Another trickle down success?

The Representation Project: A Look at Media Misogyny in 2013

by Nomad

Often advertising images become so much a part of our day to day life that we fail to actually notice how they subtly influence our perceptions. Whether we like it or not, sex sells but the toxic waste of that kind of advertising is the trashing of women. 

Ad Nauseum

But if negative imagery and stereotyping of women (and men, for that matter) originate in advertising, it certainly isn't limited to it. Eventually, the images become so pervasive that the messages become an accepted part of the culture. 

Inevitably, the print media and the airwaves slowly but surely become filled to the brim with garbage. 

In no time at all, we find ourselves watching (and then discussing ad nausea) clips of Miley Cyrus "tweaking" on Robin Thicke- basically what the French call "frottage." Her dancing partner, whose last CD was banned in some quarters for promoting a rape culture, not long ago joked in an interview, "What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I've never gotten to do that before." 

Talk about taking the subject seriously.

The Compassionate Mob: When Anonymous Crowds Do Great Things

by Nomad

After reading the Laney Christmas story (h/t to zane), I admit I got a tad weepy- but in a good way. Yes yes, it's true: beneath this rhino-skin lies a sensitive jellyfish. 

Despite so much evidence to the contrary, I, like Anne Frank, want to have faith in the goodness of people. Yeah, I want to believe that people are good.

So sue me. I was born this way.

Strangers on a Subway

Last July, another story in the same vein went practically unnoticed.

When a woman slipped between a train and a station platform just north of Tokyo on Monday, about 40 commuters and railroad employees worked together to tilt the 32-ton subway car enough to one side so that she could be pulled to safety.

The Associated Press writes that the train car's suspension system "allows it to lean to either side, according to the Yomiuri newspaper, Japan's largest daily." The woman was not seriously injured and, the AP adds, "after just an eight-minute delay, the train went on its way."

There's no real reason why this story should have attracted very much attention, I suppose. 
Things like this happen all the time but they hardly ever get much airtime or ink. News networks, like CNN, generally prefer enthusiastic spokespeople and charismatic leaders to interview to help them package things up neatly.

This was another spontaneous act of a compassionate but faceless crowd. The empathetic mob, if you will. Such stories are, to use a cliche, heart-warming. Common at Christmas time. 

With so much evidence of our greedy, perfidious,  violent or  destructive urges, stories like these make us feel happy again to be a human. 

So it's worth taking a closer look I think.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Here are some fun pictures of Santa Claus that I thought you might enjoy. 

Warmest Wishes from Nomad

Clearly Nancy didn’t  think  Santa was limited to  one color.	Contrary to  popular belief, Santa Claus is no  couch potato!

The image of Santa has changed  over the years, as this photo  from the 1890s shows.	But seriously, would you trust your child  with a Santa that  looks like this ? Even the donkey looks terrified.

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Update:

Found this video for you all. 

It broke my heart to hear one man say that this humble back pack was the best gift he had ever gotten and this was the best day he had ever had. 

Uganda: Where Your Tax Dollars Are Supporting Gay Apartheid

by Nomad

The African nation of Uganda has introduced some of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world. What role has your tax dollars played in supporting the one-man rule in there? How have US evangelists help to foment anti-gay hatred? 

Uganda, the self-designated "the Pearl of Africa" is by many analysts' reckoning, a failed state. Thirty three percent of the population do not have access to safe water and 52% of people are without sanitation. Infant mortality stands at 130 in 1,000, and 26,000 children under the age of five die every year die from diarrhoeal diseases. 

There's also the raging AIDS epidemic, which has reportedly killed somewhere between 52,000 - 81,000 and has orphaned around 1 million children.

Altogether a hard sell for the Ugandan Minister of Tourism.

But if one is looking for a bright side, then Uganda's human rights record isn't it. 

And there is no better proof that the African country is failing by how much its government respects the human rights of all its citizens.

Amnesty International, in its most recent report on Ugandan human rights record, cites abuses to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly as commonplace.  Despite investigations by the Uganda Human Rights Commission on accusations of torture by police, "no action was taken to hold law enforcement officials responsible for human rights violations to account, or to grant victims and their families an effective remedy."

The influential Foreign Policy (FP) magazine noted:

“From all appearances, the democratic opening in Uganda is closing and human rights are the collateral damage.

This is not at all shocking or unusual for Uganda. 
In 2011, a UN report heavily criticized President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's leader since 1986, and his government's human rights record is only one step up from a predecessor. Idi Amin.  The report highlighted the numerous problems, such as a plan to allow detention without charge for a period of six months, Museveni's  record of silencing the press, as well as excessive force used by the government against opposition protesters.

Furthermore, the UN report urged the government to  decriminalize homosexuality and legislate against torture. What was the response?

One Day of Life: Death Rate Among America's Newborns Highest in the Industrialized World

by Nomad

More infants die on their birthdays in the US than any other industrialized nation in the world. But in a nation as wealthy as America, why should that happen? 

A comparison between Sweden -which has one of the lowest rates of one-day old deaths-and the state of Mississippi- which has the highest rate of infant mortality in the US- might provide some clues at reducing the death rate among American's youngest and most vulnerable victims.

A report released last April by the organization, Save the Children, has exposed a troubling statistic:

“The United States has the highest first-day death rate in the industrialized world. An estimated 11,300 newborn babies die each year in the United States on the day they are born. This is 50 percent more first-day deaths than all other industrialized countries combined.”

More day-old babies die in the US than in 68 other countries, including Egypt, Turkey and Peru.

The study cited premature births as being one major cause. Globally, 35 percent of all newborns that die are pre-term. In the United States, this is also true.

“Many babies in the United States are born too early. The U.S. preterm birth rate (1 in 8 births) is one of the highest in the industrialized world (second only to Cyprus). In fact, 130 countries from all across the world have lower preterm birth rates than the United States,” the report reads.

The study suggests that politics and culture might play a role in the causes for the United States' poor record.

It's not all bad news but it's bad enough. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention the rate of deaths of first year infants has been in decline from 24,586 U.S. babies in 2010 to 23,910 in 2011. This has been achieved primarily through effective affordable health care. especially with access to health care to all women of childbearing age and and other specific prenatal initiatives.

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More children die at birth in India than anywhere else, followed by Nigeria, Pakistan and China,  the report finds. Finland and Sweden have the lowest rates of newborn deaths in the world.

Certainly poverty might explain the contrast between India and Sweden. But that doesn't explain the differences between Sweden and the United States.