A Month Ago I Presented “The Crisis of Capitalism”…

… after today’s posts and quotes on Guns and Butter, stupid internal politics and political agendas funded by money we spend on products, I thought it was time to look at the “Crisis” presentation again. For the 11 minutes of Economic Education, go HERE.

Which Political Agenda Do You Support When Buying Goods?

This information from Corey’s got me thinking about how much of my money spent supports politicians I can’t stand.

clipped from coreysviews.wordpress.com $ = Donations D = Democratic Party R = Republican Party =-=-= PETsMART, Inc.- D: $0 / R: $6,250 PETCO – D: $555 / R: $6,420 DOMINO’S PIZZA – D: $0 / R: $62,489 OUTBACK STEAK HOUSE – D: $10,175 / R: $585,476 GOYA FOODS – D: $0 / R: $32,800 HERSHEY FOOD – D: $1,415 / R: $36,295 =-=-= Source: The Blue Pages, First Edition The BRAND NEW UPDATED ‘The Blue Pages” Second Edition, can be found HERE By summarizing the political contributions and business practices of hundreds of corporations, this handy directory helps you support companies that share your political values. Follow your money; you might be surprised. The Blue Pages includes valuable information on political contributions to each major party, employee benefits and labor practices, lawsuits and investigations, and community and charitable programs. As this information starts to affect these companies at the cash register, they may be less inclined to support positions that conflict with their customers’ values.

A Quote for Today…

As long as I’m discussing the Guns and Butter issue as it effects the folks in our Middle Class and the Government that seems to be screwing them, I thought I’d drop this quote, made about a week ago, by E. J. Dionne:

“Can a nation remain a superpower if its internal politics are incorrigibly stupid?”

Well, can it?

Adding to the Guns and Butter (see last entry) discussion:

This was in the LA Times in February:

In Utah, a plan to cut 12th grade

The proposal by state Sen. Chris Buttars would chip away at Utah’s $700-million shortfall. He’s since offered a toned-down version: Just make senior year optional.

At Utah’s West Jordan High School, the halls have swirled lately with debate over the merits of 12th grade:

Is it a waste of time? Are students ready for the real world at 17?

One day we could have a country that’s missing a year of education… but we’ll have soldiers in Afghanistan (and seventeen is a great age to recruit ’em!)

Guns and Butter

We are spending $2 Billion a week in Afghanistan. If you want to see zeros, that’s $2,000,000,000.00 a week. It also means $104 Billion a year.

Meanwhile, we can’t afford to keep our education budgets in functional condition. We can’t reduce our National Debt. We can’t bring down our operating deficit. And we are spending a fortune on foreign servicing (read China) of our debt.

The Teacher/Jobs bill that was passed by the Senate goes to the House tomorrow. It MUST be passed there if we want teachers to keep their jobs, if we want to see class sizes remain small enough, if we want to have all the extra programs beyond basic ABC’s working in our children’s favor.

And what about the money we are still spending in IRAQ? Here is the remains of a military action that we get just about zero benefit from (we shouldn’t have been there in the first place… and now it turns out that the Bush Administration has been documented as planning the invasion of Iraq BEFORE 9/11!)

The debate that is going to come up right away…if not as I write this…is a Guns and Butter debate. Do we keep supplying useless wars or do we keep our own middle-class culture from dying out entirely? Watch the activities of Congress and listen to the coming election speeches if you don’t believe me.

Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal dead at age 84

Neal died of lung cancer, surrounded by family in Edgartown, Massachusetts, on Martha’s Vineyard.

Neal won an Academy Award for her role in the 1963 film “Hud” alongside Paul Newman and boasted a long list of stage, film and TV credits alongside Hollywood’s leading men including Ronald Reagan, John Wayne and Tyrone Powers.

She once had a love affair with actor Gary Cooper with whom she starred in “The Fountainhead” and “Bright Leaf” but it ended in disaster after his wife found out, leaving Neal broken-hearted, according to an obituary in the LA Times.

She was married to the British writer Roald Dahl for 30 years with whom she had five children.

When Neal was pregnant with their fifth child in 1965 she suffered three massive strokes and was in a coma for three weeks.

But with the help of her husband, she recovered and gave birth to a healthy daughter Lucy and returned to films, acting in “The Subject Was Roses.”

She founded the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, on whose website she was quoted as saying:

“I’ve learned many lessons in life, but the most important is this – be tenacious and determined, even in old age… I don’t like getting older. I thought I would, but it has turned out differently than I expected.”

This is an actress that will be missed.