Those that see in black and white and ignore the grays make for far easier problem-solving. It is no mystery the Bush ‘03 State of The Union offers to “confound the designs of evil men...our calling,... a blessed country is to make the world better.” It is far simpler to accept the statement at face value than to delve into its grays. A pesky liberal, however, is driven by some weird “noble discontent” and expects clarification: Is evil confined to al Qaeda or to all evil men in the “axis” a...
I heard on C-span concerning the depletion of manufacturing jobs as analogous to the loss of agricultural jobs during the first half of the last century. The productivity level of agricultural products was so enhanced that small farms became almost obsolete. The analogy, however, is flawed because the massive shift to the industrial cities was absorbed by manufacturing jobs. Even the increased productivity of manufacturing by virtue of robotic assembly lines in the latter half of the last cen...
Intelligent Design may well be a sub-element of the universe, but it is terribly inefficient; or possibly, more like Plato’s Demiurge working feverishly to rectify the sprawling mistakes of itself, which relegates so much of the universe’s labor to chance and apparent necessity working in mysteriously destructive ways. Why could not the Big Bang be an Instant Epiphany wherein consciousness took hold of its own direction, rather than being left to disorderly debris on chance of evolving into a ...
The late inning — here again Whence spirit’s bullpen Treads the player “J” To close the disarray Human errors cause By blinding hurrahs, And zeros on the board So wilfully ignored. Copyright © 2003 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: December 10, 2003 .
A guy called Adam owned a button factory. He estimated his cost of production [the actual labor involved] was eight dollars per thousand units. The commodity yielded him $10. Here is how he arrived at this cost: Raw Material: $2 payment for total labor costs of production of the source. Plant Equipment and Maintenance: $1 Rent: 50¢ Delivery: 50¢ Labor: $4 representing the individual labor of end product. Adam reasoned that though the worker theoretically is entitled to the f...
Alienation is a teleological principle of materialism: the presupposition that there is a world out there necessitates alienation of human endeavor — I am, therefore I think about. The nonrational animal extends its activity no farther than the limitations of its species truncating surplus labor — with the exception of some hoarding instincts — yet the input of its life is cruelly disproportionate to the use value of its output. A good share of its labor is wasteful, competitive, futile and o...
Copyright © 1999 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: November 9, 2003 Santa seemed on every block. Life, color, light were everywhere belying the evening's dark, heavy sky. Caroling floated on snow flakes. Smiling shoppers were eying decorated windows as children were pressing against panes flaunting busy toys. Last minute shoppers were rushing into stores while others were rushing out on the way to the many things left to do at home. A thin young woman clu...
Until such unlikely time that the sinister chemical of crime is removed from the brain, or the DNA of criminal orientation is discovered, society is plagued with the high cost of penal codes in carrying them out. What with the fiscal crunch of the fifty states, the trend has been “early release” without little back up insuring against recidivism, including drug and alcohol related behavior. Though shortsighted the trend does free up crowded prisons and reduces state budgets on an average of...
[sample; available in full] Copyright © 1993 Richard R. Kennedy Prologue Long ago was unrecorded distant land by the sea. Its southern terrain was mostly rolling hills and dales while a smaller section to the north was mountainous. The tallest mountain loomed high above a cliff along the shore. On the other side it faced a vast valley rich with vegetation. At the base of this mountain, the top of which was partially blown off before the dawn of man, there had ...
With all the violence rampant in the nation, I find it hard to understand why so many people object to gun control. After all, it has nothing to do with the farm lad or lass shooting down crows over a cornfield, but it does target the criminal mind or the ballistic hunter who wants military firepower. I doubt anyone would object to banning over-the-shoulder missiles to shoot down the bald headed eagle! Do we really want to go back to the mentality of slaughtering buffaloes? C’mon, you gun-l...
I’m a believer in political dialogue and debate. There comes a time, however, when too much of a good thing must end, such as the over abundance of Democratic candidates. Sharpton and Kucinich have had their say but are going nowhere. As much as I admire Braun’s magnificent reason and balance, there is little hope for her, though surely if one of the candidates should become president, there will be a place for her. Lieberman with his hawkish posture and tendency to swivel at the slightest hin...
Jill-user’s problem with the high cost of labor in decorating her home with holiday lights stems from the early 50s’ housing boom. Many theretofore city-dwellers suddenly became homeowners and met up with repair and maintenance they never had experienced. Since most were ordinary Joes and Jills they catalyzed the do-it-yourself industry—another enormous boom. Of course, not all were handy or could even muddle through tasks and had to take part-time jobs to offset the cost of tradesmen to re...
We have not been able to close the book on the Civil War in the wake of Confederate flag waving and racism still rampant in all sections of the nation. Nor will the chapter on Affirmative Action be concluded until we finally empathize with those of color and gender. In fact, another chapter on Affirmative Action must be drafted for unskilled workers who must be given every opportunity to better their lot. There has always been Affirmative Action for the privilege; for it is seldom what you ...
In the South there are still those who feel the flag of a tragic past should fly high rather than relegating it to a museum and its image embedded in history books concerning the Civil War. There is only one appropriate place for it to be displayed and that is in a memorial cemetery honoring veterans who died for a cause that was wrong. Of course, freedom of expression cannot be deterred anymore than those who parade waving the Nazis flag, but just as the Ten Commandment monument was remo...
In the McCarthyite inferno of the 50's there was as much outrage over the insertion of "under God" as there is now in the omission of the phrase in this era of religious righteousness. The irony in face of 9/11 is that religious zealots are just as militant in a political sense as Islam is in reality. For congress to lead the nation in a childish demonstration by pledging allegiance with emphasis “under God” is tantamount to Islamic adherents saying they are of a peaceful faith or the demoniac...