tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97028682011-11-05T05:56:09.088-04:00Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.comBlogger16331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-50399759320927206602011-04-21T11:48:00.001-04:002011-04-21T11:50:48.919-04:00

One of the most deadly and addictive drugs now replacing less dangerous 'highs' is ENDOCET. Unhappily this stuff is readily available by prescription, sale, or theft.Apparently I violated log rules by posting the entire account. I will keep this short and hope it is widely distributed. I was on this stuff briefly and generally in a daze with it until my son warned me of its dangerous addition

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-26414487160655164472011-04-21T10:17:00.003-04:002011-04-21T10:18:27.305-04:00

America is no longer a democracy. It is reverting to the injustices of the 19th century reformed by the two Roosevelts. People's memories are short and we soon may be seeing our own revolution as suffering people fight back against our super rich poised to get even richer with manipulation of the global economy and our waste on wars and pointless military junk -- blackmail from reps in

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-74228126637935543132011-04-12T14:16:00.000-04:002011-04-12T14:17:23.255-04:00

I have reached that age where I have to cope with pain. A combination of arthritis and a rib injured in a fall had me using Endocet (below) until my son discovered that this drug is both dangerous and addictive.My first night off it was hell. Then I split the pills and took half does for several days. I may still be breaking loose.Much better for maintaining one's body is a field of people

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-61982346975999863492011-04-12T11:30:00.003-04:002011-04-12T11:39:34.361-04:00

My thoughtful son has noted that few of use logic or math to approach our decision-making. Rather emotions, slogans (honest or lies often repeated), anxieties, etc. determine our thinking and voting patterns.It is hard to believe that our 'democracy' is making no authentic mention of American suffering -- loss of homes, jobs, etc. Give the CEOs (Koch brothers, etc.) billions in breaks and let

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-70312177812746034802011-04-03T13:56:00.002-04:002011-04-03T13:59:18.074-04:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CannibalismCannibalism is a human practice in which the strong conquer and literally eat the bodies of the weak.For all the boasting of 'American democracy' it is obvious that precisely political cannibalism is the game being played. How many children are hungry? How many people are being driven from their homes? How many are either too young or too old to find

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-24908165888425877962011-04-01T08:57:00.001-04:002011-04-01T09:00:41.534-04:00

Confidence Slips Away as Japan Battles Nuclear PerilKen Belson and Hiroko Tabuchi, The New York TimesKen Belson and Hiroko Tabuchi report: "Compounding the matter, the government said Tuesday that the recent discovery of plutonium in the soil at the plant provided new evidence that at least one reactor was experiencing melting of its nuclear fuel, as happened in the early days."******************

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-36104503875452837692011-03-29T09:52:00.001-04:002011-03-29T09:54:23.739-04:00

Amidst all the 'entertainment' stuff designed to build profits, we too readily forget that almost daily another of our brave young military have died in wars that look in some cases to have no ends.The NY Times usually has a snippet of another death and the numbers of our military who have already died per the report below. We are one death away from 1,500 young lives given over to "the Afghan

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-34830722440022527692011-03-24T13:04:00.001-04:002011-03-24T13:06:14.133-04:00

Manifestly, there is no more brutal national head in the Middle East than Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. Anyone willing and ready to slaughter his own makes Saddam Hussein look like a pussycat.We (and I say pointedly "We" ) had no choice but block this man's slaughter routine. It looks to me as though Obama has done the best possible job getting things together fast to rescue numerous lives at risk.

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-37265848500147208622011-03-20T15:49:00.002-04:002011-03-20T15:58:06.685-04:00

We moved into our present home, 440 Riverside Drive, approximately a half century ago just as the City University of New York was opening its doors to any and all -- I had been startled to be able to get students admitted to Yale who were being rejected by CCNY. I was persuaded by this experience that teaching in an open enrollment college looked like the thing for me -- even though my former

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-56712420490581698112011-03-09T15:10:00.002-05:002011-03-09T15:15:42.085-05:00

Some wars -- such as my citation of of Machiavelli/Livy below -- are justified. I was a child of WW2 and only regretted that I was too young to join it.What one notices is that we tend to abuse these days those who can not defend themselves -- in addition to specific ethnic groups -- many from any group cannot get fair hearings -- don't send children or granny to second rates intuitions -- which

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-30691929863407616652011-02-27T13:41:00.001-05:002011-02-27T13:43:16.339-05:00

Corporations, Unions, with Government as RefereeAs a graduate student starting a dissertation, I discovered that the big three above should play balanced roles with the qualification that all three were largely run by decent people largely working in the public interest. How drastically things have changed with greed now running a country with millions in desperate need.My first career choice for

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-83035291744113670052011-02-21T10:42:00.002-05:002011-02-21T10:46:11.920-05:00

In 1979 I was able to negotiate a 'non-eviction' co-op for our building, 440 Riverside Drive at W. 116th St., where my wife and I have done public service including battle with Columbia -- from which we both hold degrees -- for its greedy conversion of our neighborhood to 'millionaires only need apply' (our 6 windows overlooking Riverside Drive and the Hudson River cost only about $20,000 then).

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-36377864591696208242011-02-14T13:08:00.002-05:002011-02-14T13:15:15.624-05:00

[Having worked as a college student summers in some factory and construction jobs, I am well aware that heavy weights can injure backs permanently -- as was the aircraft plant back in the 1950s which prohibited us from lifting more than 30 pound loads. This was not altruism. They knew that injured workers could cost them money.I am amazed, then, that those who have no knowledge of such things

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-81693654982456825882011-02-13T11:46:00.001-05:002011-02-13T11:49:25.084-05:00

Iran opposition 'planning protests'Seemingly emboldened by events in Tunisia and Egypt, there are reports about calls for anti- government rallies.D. Parvaz Last Modified: 13 Feb 2011 14:24 GMThttp://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011212162526150718.htmlOne cannot predict at the moment what sort of democracy Egypt will produce or even that it may not be taken over by a military

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-71138364673690323392011-02-12T11:00:00.002-05:002011-02-12T11:04:06.739-05:00

I can entirely sympathize with Israeli nervousness over the apparent advent of Egyptian democracy -- not yet certain under a military regime.I have good friends in Israel/Palestine about whom I care greatly. But I think this historical event gives them new powers to enlist justice for themselves and abused Palestinians. None but a suicidal mad person would attack Israel now and risk its massive

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-46052368320383416532011-02-05T09:58:00.002-05:002011-02-05T10:03:20.225-05:00

One of the myths bought by Americans and Muslims alike is that it is the U.S. goaded by AIPAC that is allowing Israel to abuse the Palestinians. See the comment by Netanyahu featured in the latest AIPAC (below).The truth of the matter is that the greedy Muslim dictators in that area have been using the U.S. as their cover for profits garnered from the abuses of the Palestinians and their own

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-62278456727367272412011-02-04T06:24:00.002-05:002011-02-04T06:39:58.962-05:00

We humans do not have 'free will'. We have dispositions that can erupt in all sorts of situations -- and can be enlarged by these. Our political bodies illustrate such with all the rationales supporting each.Our Supreme Court formats this phenomenon numerically -- all those 5-4 votes. Four now care. Four are murderous. One is an occasional swing vote.The sad breakdowns of returning veterans

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-78448867142665471102011-01-28T12:20:00.001-05:002011-01-28T12:22:40.986-05:00

I have just reached that delicate age when pills for ailments and other treatments are called for in abundance.One of my doctors referred me for physical therapy (a professional field that I did not know existed) where I have learned an amazing amount in the ways to forestall pain. It is called Premier Physical Therapy & Wellness. There are locations on both the East and West Side of Manhattan

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-60053640544260741262011-01-20T07:49:00.000-05:002011-01-20T07:50:48.715-05:00

“ Yeah, very powerless people. [laughs] He's such a minority. I mean, you know, please. What—are you kidding? I'm telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart. And to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-60958556092043518912011-01-15T07:30:00.001-05:002011-01-15T07:33:09.839-05:00

U.S. health care is outrageously expensive. As the following website implies, games are being played with the numbers, but apart from cleaning up the abuses of Medicare by doctors overcharging and keeping everyone covered in the future there is no problem in paying for care for all -- a single payer system:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_StatesThe same is true for social

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-27414605543096254302011-01-13T11:12:00.002-05:002011-01-13T11:15:32.827-05:00

It is ironic that the Republican plan to repeal medical reform has been aborted for the moment because of the horrendous attack on a fine young Congresswoman being kept alive by excellent medical care.I am forever puzzled by the capacity of so many to deny to others food, shelter, medical care and even life itself. Our death rates for a major democracy are a disgrace -- infants included!http://

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-27218149182472892782011-01-09T19:13:00.001-05:002011-01-09T19:14:41.601-05:00

The Arizona Congress member was in some ways fortunate and others less so. The bullet entered her skull from the left side back of her head and exited from the front left. Her doctors in a Fox news conference indicated that she was fortunate in several ways: the bullet exited without pressuring the brain as would have occurred had it lodged within. It did not penetrate the center which would have

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-40362126727472511782011-01-08T14:22:00.002-05:002011-01-08T14:29:48.352-05:00

I am constantly puzzled by critics of Obama from both parties who don't get the basic fact that we have moved on into a global economy in which other nations can compete with us for jobs simply by paying their workers less than nothing and not providing benefits to which we are accustomed: China, India, others. The Europeans are facing the same problem.The blue collar jobs in particular are not

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-16389246848525248852011-01-06T13:18:00.003-05:002011-01-07T14:15:06.955-05:00

I spent the bulk of my life either studying or teaching -- until I was 74. Now I gather the Republicans want to sabotage both of these basic support programs which keep us elders going. If this is not proposed murder of millions, I don't know what is. Already 145,000 Americans die each year because they could not afford medical insurance:http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/03/

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-62480518789268608922011-01-01T08:07:00.002-05:002011-01-01T08:11:33.788-05:00

The unholy tax deal that Obama negotiated with the Republicans more or less told us where the Republican backers would like them to go -- minimal taxes for the rich and early deaths for the poor. But I wonder whether some of them may be wondering whether they can get away with that policy for two years without facing grand repudiation at the polls next time around and possibly into the

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-65252919741871759612010-12-28T10:50:00.001-05:002010-12-28T10:52:45.809-05:00

45% of Indian children suffer from malnutrition. ****************************"Civil rights groups and academics in India and the US have called on India's government to free a leading public health specialist and human rights activist, Dr Binayak Sen."He was sentenced to life in prison last Friday for helping Maoist rebels."Dr Sen was found guilty of carrying messages and setting up bank

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-84770026997092377362010-12-28T10:28:00.002-05:002010-12-28T10:31:30.462-05:00

The Republican "death panel" stuff is pure and simple c--p. All of us are mortal, i.e. going to die some way. Probably the best way to go is suddenly with little or at least short-lived pain. Such usually sends one into shock which blocks the pain. Sudden death -- stroke, heart failure, accident -- is hard on our loved ones. But even harder is a slow dragged out death from such as cancer or

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-1461152633604157562010-12-26T11:10:00.000-05:002010-12-26T11:11:51.599-05:00

I happened to catch a fragment of a program the other day in which the interviewee was arguing that our experiences in early childhood shape our adult lives -- in contrast to the genetic explanations of personality and adult behavior.It set me thinking as to how fortunate I had been most of my life to have ben rescued by mentors. When I was about 4 I developed what was diagnosed as rheumatic

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-21895324507497979642010-12-21T10:03:00.001-05:002010-12-21T10:05:13.022-05:00

I suspect that we are in for an interesting two years as the Republicans try to get their act together. Are they conservatives, moderates, some ungodly shifting combination of same.It looks to me as though Obama has gotten off to a fast start. I am holding my breath as to whether the START treaty with Russia will get the 67 votes it probably needs to pass -- with one of our Dems unavailable due

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-22662747776981531802010-12-19T08:38:00.003-05:002010-12-19T08:54:34.172-05:00

[Ironically the most powerful voices in America today seem to be those of Australians -- Murdoch and Assange. The former has taken over the bulk of our radio and TV media and is doing his best to cover-up American abuses. The latter is doing his best to expose the same. Below are fragments on each from Wikipedia websites.This truly is a battle royale. Assange has just been released from

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-37355343747489167802010-12-18T07:38:00.002-05:002010-12-18T07:43:13.048-05:00

The issue that concerns me here is not the huge % of our prisoners who are African Americans, but how many of these are innocent?I have been robbed by African American men three times -- once on the subway and once when a man snuck in our open front door one hot summer day the grabbed my billfold and my wife's purse sitting by the front door. My wife saw him from the end of a long hall and

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-77178623140773664182010-12-17T06:59:00.002-05:002010-12-17T07:03:00.666-05:00

Things do not look good -- either for those of us not wealthy or the nation as a whole. We are over committed financially to the wrong things -- the rich rather than those in desperate need of help, wars that have no end or ends that can be justified. Obama's comments on Afghanistan said not a word about our security agencies' skepticism about our prospects there which contrast sharply with the

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-73945352041897946732010-12-15T08:33:00.002-05:002010-12-15T08:42:52.008-05:00

Obama, I suspect, is at his lowest popularity rating now, but if you check out the Washington Post/ABC polls below, you will find that he is still ahead of the Republicans.American suffering is going to be great this next two years. The 13 month extension of assistance to those out of work does not include the 99ers who have already reached the maximum beyond which the benefit does not apply.

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-9859518905366183482010-12-14T07:04:00.002-05:002010-12-14T07:08:34.482-05:00

I feel some sympathy for Obama trying to figure how to cope what almost seems to be a new major problem each day.To run down the list:Our economy is in a mess -- deep recession with debts, both national and individual.The current wars and threat of yet another offer little likelihood of good results. Iraq may well degenerate into a civil war between its three disparate ethnic/religious

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-51752826024109953162010-12-13T07:57:00.001-05:002010-12-13T08:00:03.408-05:00

These are some things that I did in my life that I deeply regret. The first good lesson came when I was in first grade. My mother used to drive me to school and then pick me up for lunch. One day I was slow to get ready and late to school. I told my beloved teacher -- first through third grades -- that my mother had been the one slow getting started. To my horror that day my mother took my

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-71829899006172413502010-12-12T07:17:00.002-05:002010-12-12T07:25:05.858-05:00

http://www.businessinsider.com/does-the-unemployment-insurance-extension-help-the-99ers-2010-12I had assumed that Obama's deal to extend unemployment pay outs would rescue the estimated 2 million 99ers who will have run out of support during the next two months. With a Republican House controlling finances, I see no help for these people apart from private organizations which are themselves

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-22398541380647376042010-12-11T07:06:00.002-05:002010-12-11T07:15:29.658-05:00

By chance two solid studies on evaluating teachers have been published within several weeks of each other. What is clear is that the present system of awarding lifetime tenure to teachers after only two years of service is both unfair to new teachers and to students stuck with incompetent ones.Tenure for beginning college teachers usually requires 5 to 7 years in the classroom and includes

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-80254805922585871542010-12-10T10:47:00.001-05:002010-12-10T10:49:49.105-05:00

Obama can veto Republican bills, but he cannot ensure funding for those in desperate need of help. I am disconcerted by the blah, blah, blah of Democratic pols who seem not yet to have taken in the fact that they lost the last election.The only check on the Republicans is pointing out their favoring the ultra rich -- which Obama's tax deal with them manifests in bold letters.There will be much

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-48313168357855703472010-12-10T06:51:00.002-05:002010-12-10T06:57:54.286-05:00

According the Wikipedia report:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_ManningBradley Manning had a troubled childhood with the separation of his Welsh mother and American father which led to his return to Wales. According to the Wiki report he is a troubled young man.However, he has graphically demonstrated that in this age of internet communications there are no secrets and that whistle blowers in

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-55332940389210660192010-12-08T08:28:00.002-05:002010-12-08T08:37:41.493-05:00

Our Democratic 'liberal' pols don't seem to have caught on the the fact that the election handed over control of our economy to the Republicans.The one caution that smart Republicans face is that they are the party controlled by and favoring the ultra rich. They know that they will face this fact with the next election and whether they have obviously sold out the middle income as well as the

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-84850472784995747152010-12-05T06:18:00.002-05:002010-12-05T06:32:03.599-05:00

As I read the commentaries today nearly all of them are giving Obama a rough time: why did he freeze federal salaries for two years? Does he really think he can persuade the Republicans to drop their tax break for the superrich? etc., etc. About the one positive report in my emails today is the DAVID E. SANGER piece in the NY Times Week in Review ("Cables Depict Range of Obama Diplomacy").It is

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-87891846794480563702010-12-04T07:14:00.001-05:002010-12-04T07:18:48.800-05:00

The ancient Hebrews were opposed to gay relationships, but not the Hellenes who saw loving relationships -- particularly between older men and younger ones -- as a form of sponsorship:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_ancient_GreeceThere are echoes of this in characterizations of Plato/Socrates.I find no Google source which gives a good explanation of the conflict between Greek and

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-25193535664042462962010-12-03T07:18:00.002-05:002010-12-03T07:20:57.758-05:00

As one who was trained in theology as well as philosophy, I am influenced by the examples of two of our great humans of the past who were both executed by their jealous establishments -- Jesus and Socrates:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SocratesI am not a religious believer, but I do ardently support the ideals of both our human heroes of the past. Jesus argued

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-28401083537111304052010-12-02T07:53:00.002-05:002010-12-02T07:59:20.029-05:00

The Republicans are threatening to block essential legislation unless the super wealthy get another tax break.IMHO Obama should stick to his guns on this one and let the Republicans hang themselves:1) We need the proposed treaty with Russia not only to keep the peace in the Middle East, but to get our troops into and out of Afghanistan:http://rt.com/usa/news/

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-20772366783958297852010-12-01T06:43:00.002-05:002010-12-01T06:46:22.041-05:00

This is probably my most personal blog, but perhaps it will be helpful to others who have lost a loved one. My dear wife who died August 22 '09 and I met as young teens at a conference our parents were attending. We fell in love and at our next meeting four years later, decided that we would get married. And we did as soon as she graduated from college and we headed off for a year of studies at

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-77368854471602382552010-11-30T12:34:00.001-05:002010-11-30T12:36:29.712-05:00

It is really sad to see so many workers being shafted now -- not old enough for social Security and Medicare, but too old to get jobs.When I was in college, I used to work at new jobs each summer which ranged from building houses and working with scrap metal to writing for the Time Inc. publications. Later I did the same when I needed extra money at Oxford. I had a choice between writing for

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-46160043080308628902010-11-28T08:19:00.003-05:002010-11-28T08:25:03.230-05:00

During my teen year as an exchange student in the early '50s, I also took the opportunity to visit my pen pal in Northern France. His father was a teacher and I was intrigued to learn that teachers in France were viewed as a part of the elite along with doctors and judges.Even in the days of my youth, U.S. teachers were down at the bottom of the professional scale even though there were some

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-38423849487970508422010-11-27T10:46:00.002-05:002010-11-27T10:55:30.187-05:00

When I graduated from secondary school in the U.S., I was awarded what was then called a British American Schoolboy Scholarship by the English Speaking Union:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-Speaking_UnionI gather that the ESU's activities have since widened broadly in doing good works.I happened to be assigned to the Uppingham School in Rutland County in the Midlands -- probably because it

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-43388822801559495112010-11-26T09:44:00.002-05:002010-11-26T09:53:09.632-05:00

In four days millions of Americans will be facing black 'Tuesday' -- November 30 when unemployment benefits begin to run out. If the Republicans stick to their game plan of freezing our budgets, little can be done to rescue millions of Americans unemployed, cut off from monies for basics -- food and their homes:http://budget.senate.gov/republican/I cannot imagine what the consequences will be.

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-79359247064729959642010-11-25T10:04:00.003-05:002010-11-25T10:17:52.951-05:00

The U.S. differs from its European counterparts in that we are a nation of diverse groups. Interesting enough our largest ethnic group is German American, not British:"In 2008, German Americans (16.5%), Irish Americans (11.9%),English Americans (9.0%) and Italian Americans (6.4) were the four largest self-reported ancestry groups in the United States.[4]"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-40284212138532969352010-11-25T06:33:00.001-05:002010-11-25T06:35:01.545-05:00

I imagine that a majority of American families are holding traditional Thanksgiving celebrations -- turkey and all the fixings. This is so of my three children and four grandchildren.But lest we forget, the recent election is going to exacerbate the sufferings of many millions of Americans -- particularly children. We have a huge death rate for people without medical insurance:*****************

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-90883500145523024532010-11-23T06:32:00.002-05:002010-11-23T06:44:58.642-05:00

The posts below report the relative numbers of troops respectively of the U.S. and North Korea and the block on nuclear retaliation to a North Korean attack. To speculate a bit, our U.S. military has been exhausting itself with unwinnable wars in the Middle East. Consequently, should North Korea decide to invade South Korea, there is not much that we could do about it. We could not attack it

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-35142824866052669392010-11-22T07:16:00.003-05:002010-11-22T07:30:04.524-05:00

One of the first examples of security reps running things I learned from an excellent high school teacher when I was a junior. An example at the time was the undermining of Iranian early stages of democracy to keep control of its oil by the Brits and our C.I.A.**************************************Mohammad Mosaddegh (Persian: محمد مصدّق, IPA: [mohæmˈmæd(-e) mosædˈdeɣ] ( listen)* also Mossadegh,

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-53883561127004672512010-11-21T07:20:00.002-05:002010-11-21T07:28:14.131-05:00

Many years ago when a colleague and I were teaching at Vassar College we both decided to take on a summer course at a local community college and for fun traded fields -- psychology versus philosophy -- so I got to teach a psychology course from a pre-selected text. I recall that in a section on aging it stressed that recall tends to slow or delay with age -- something like skiing down a slope

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-63094047584152622732010-11-20T09:16:00.002-05:002010-11-20T09:31:02.257-05:00

[I am taking the liberty here of sending out as a blog a portion of Bob Herbert's NY Times Op-Ed today which recognizes that the U.S. is in big trouble, but fails as most to see that there is no solution such as he intimates that will rescue us from our massive array of problems.The main point that Bob Herbert is missing here is that we are now competing in a global economy which (along with our

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-64448849931403191582010-11-19T10:25:00.002-05:002010-11-19T10:33:59.654-05:00

As I read and watch comments on our financial situation, I am constantly startled by the bold lies and manipulations of who has what.It is pretty obvious that our superrich are getting more so -- and perhaps even more than any of us know. If one can afford clever accountants and lawyers and has access to where the global monies lie and/or can be hidden, one can really make out big time.But

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-91259824848483513292010-11-18T07:39:00.002-05:002010-11-18T07:43:43.198-05:00

The Republicans or Tea Party did not win the last election. It was lost by those eligible who did not vote. The U.S. has been constantly shrinking in percentages of eligible voters who do not vote -- particularly these days younger Americans. The figures posted at the conclusion of this report tell the story -- and contrasts with comparable nations though 1995. Things have gotten worse since.

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-40193328413196116602010-11-17T06:13:00.001-05:002010-11-17T06:16:46.998-05:00

[When I was a young child, shoe stores briefly used X-ray gadgets to observe whether feet were fitting properly into shoes. The usual practice was that the shoe clerk would demonstrate with his own foot the machine before the buyer tried it. The practice was discontinued when shoe store clerks began to develop foot cancer. The major promoter of body scans has been Michael Chertoff, former

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-37873891900921497202010-11-16T09:26:00.001-05:002010-11-16T09:28:34.498-05:00

By chance I watched the early news today and it repetitiously covered the two names in the subject heading -- over and over again. Slipped in were a few bits on Karsai and mass deaths here and there.I guess that all of us who give a damn about human welfare feel the same frustrations with the lack of real reporting on TV. I wonder what the superrich owners of the TV networks will do now that

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-14082052556574239292010-11-15T07:02:00.003-05:002010-11-15T07:14:16.384-05:00

Not so long ago we had representational taxation. One paid taxes in proportion to one's income. Since the 19th century Republicans have been attacking taxes in general and promoting domination of our democracy by the superrich. The Roosevelts, Teddy and FDR, rescued our democracy from plutocracy, i.e. rule by the wealthy:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlutocracyThis departure from democratic

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-80372909191088325352010-11-14T07:32:00.003-05:002010-11-14T07:38:20.229-05:00

One of my lists is entitled Finding Humane jobs:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FindingHumaneJobsI try to post there interesting job prospects that come in my daily emails. I figure it is a small contribution that I can make to our major domestic problem.Frankly, I don't see any big time solution to this problem. We are competing in a global economy in which other nations keep their worker costs

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-48400719505784930042010-11-13T07:16:00.002-05:002010-11-13T07:21:38.444-05:00

The reports indicate that a considerable percentage (more than half) of eligible American voters stayed home or at their jobs this past election. If such is the case, we are scarcely living in a democracy. A recent posting I sent out indicated 16 lies apparently bought by many who did vote. I could have added about as many again. These lies were promulgated presumably by the super rich and

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-77682335517242399752010-11-12T07:12:00.002-05:002010-11-12T07:19:06.823-05:00

Apart from whatever reforms the Democrats are able to pass while still formally in office, I see disaster for the U.S. ahead -- stasis and suffering for increasing numbers -- vets, the sick unable to afford medical care, the evicted, the millions of hungry (particularly our children), etc., etc. The rich will get richer and the rest of us will lose more and more of the supports necessary for a

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-81996961605203779712010-11-11T06:36:00.002-05:002010-11-11T06:41:02.473-05:00

I don't see much emerging from the recent election beyond civil wars -- Democrats versus Republicans and, perhaps, Republicans versus Tea Party.There may be some positive outcomes -- our getting out of the Middle East which we have been trying to dominate. There also may be some disasters here as well as in the Middle East -- mass killings of innocents. It looks as though we have had some near

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-59536981711258590282010-11-08T11:54:00.001-05:002010-11-08T11:56:49.666-05:00

[There are so many reports of children disappearing or being killed that I generally find myself passing them by looking for solid political news. But I must confess that the death of Shannon Tavarez stopped me short. I recall the efforts earlier to assist her with an umbilical-cord transplant in late August. Had that succeeded and she had lived on, she would undoubtedly have been a star. And

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-17389540708871272162010-11-07T08:46:00.002-05:002010-11-07T08:49:35.761-05:00

Quoting Livy cited by Machiavelli, IMHO it is time for us to get our troops out of the Middle East. The Colonialists went there in the first place (as others) to exploit resources. South America had that experience with us, including our support of dictators to run them during the Soviet conflict who were trained at our School of the Americas and who are in some instances still out there

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-89951487076958697212010-11-06T08:20:00.001-04:002010-11-06T08:23:56.319-04:00

So far as I can see the new conservatives are anti rather than pro people and social justice -- minorities, women, hungry children, Muslims, etc., etc. I don't think Americans are going to buy these negatives and hopefully Obama and the Dems generally will expose them for what they are.Needless to say we need jobs and hopefully Obama will make some progress with his Far East trip. We are losing

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-48897927231507081892010-11-05T06:08:00.001-04:002010-11-05T06:10:50.795-04:00

I am on the list where part-timers express their concerns. Before I stopped teaching at Brooklyn College we were already beginning to assign advanced courses to part-timers as our budgets shrank -- in the past the state and city had carried tuition.I watched one of my former philosophy teachers assign himself an income of about 1/2 million as CEO of a Boston area college. He had been one of my

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-63104376875167391022010-11-04T10:36:00.001-04:002010-11-04T10:40:23.457-04:00

According to one report only 42% of Americans voted Tuesday. Needless to say 57% of us are left with the results. I have read several dozen explanations of the vote results in the past hour or so. But my own theory is that scared Americans are voting their feelings and have been cut off from the basic facts that will do them harm with a freeze on assistance to those in need and other much

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-22963005563871183582010-11-03T07:31:00.002-04:002010-11-03T07:35:39.070-04:00

When FDR turned from government funded jobs to a budget freeze the U.S. economy nose-dived -- only to be rescued by WW2. We shall most likely seeing a comparable national economy failure with the Republicans blocking public spending, cutting taxes for the super rich, and wasting monies on hopeless wars.We should be putting people to work repairing our dangerously deteriorating infrastructure.

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-80597629293283289762010-11-02T07:38:00.001-04:002010-11-02T07:40:57.651-04:00

When I studied American property as a grad student in the early 1960s, there existed more or less a balance between business and labor with the government playing the role of referee between the two. The super rich faced taxes as high as 90% on their profits.The election today may be slamming the door shut on American democracy as the time we introduced social security and medicare, loosened the

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-10242400246922560682010-11-01T07:12:00.002-04:002010-11-01T07:28:43.003-04:00

People are not buying homes in large numbers now. Evictions by banks, thus, diminish their own assets and are causing increasing numbers of bank failures. I have just unloaded a rented two family house where an older woman was dying and the other's husband was in jail. Neither had been able to pay rent for more than a year. One now is dead and the second has moved in with a sister. I am

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-18968909152303107662010-10-31T07:17:00.003-04:002010-10-31T07:23:44.845-04:00

I have no idea what the results will be of the forthcoming election beyond my home state -- NY. The Stewart and Colbert event in DC yesterday was a powerful motivating influence for younger voters and others, but it was barely covered by the main TV networks and one had to watch it on the comedy channel -- not available to many TV watchers. Fragments picked out here and there in news reports

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-24091863191282898612010-10-30T07:04:00.001-04:002010-10-30T07:07:41.884-04:00

Along with police harassment as reported today by Bob Herbert, African American men are facing a number of other deficits in our social justice system: unemployment, prison conditions, declining quality of U.S. education -- in short racism is returning as manifested by the current election campaigning by the Tea Party Republicans who are appealing to whites who fear being outnumbered by

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-20768924704486352192010-10-29T06:58:00.002-04:002010-10-29T07:08:08.213-04:00

I despair more than Krugman's grim concluding comments (below). Our economy is in a terrible mess. Our nation is more divided than I have ever seen it. We shall presumably see the Republican/Tea Party attacks continue unabated on Obama. Things needing to be done will not happen. Racism seems to be thriving. Education is being degraded. Our global competitors will win out over our failing

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-16651199192061138032010-10-28T07:52:00.000-04:002010-10-28T07:53:22.937-04:00

Never in my lifetime have I seen an American election so largely distorted by lies and fantasies. Where it will go no one can really predict at this point. But we know that much of the public has been fed a distorted world of facts and fictions. Imagine what will happen if the Republicans prosper: reforms will be blocked; those in need (including many former middle class) will be evicted from

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-52080643423323137132010-10-27T07:18:00.002-04:002010-10-27T07:26:20.544-04:00

The Friedman fragment below more or less captures our American disaster in the making. Our TV media are out for ratings rather than reporting the most critical facts and too many Americans are being conned into self and national destruction.We have the expertise in this country to be the best, but our TV and radio media are misleading too many Americans with snob appeal and misdirected blame for

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-90246182626313164952010-10-26T06:49:00.001-04:002010-10-26T06:55:40.501-04:00

As the fragment below from Bob Herbert's column suggests, our national infrastructure is in a mess. A way to begin to fix it and to provide much needed jobs would require our borrowing money to repair our ancient and failing water systems.Budget cuts are the last thing we need now -- although they seem to be the program of both parties. In the meantime we risk pollution of our water supplies by

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-22880647801520388882010-10-25T07:26:00.003-04:002010-10-25T07:35:59.894-04:00

Krugman's despair over our forthcoming election (See fragment below) may not be warranted, but Republican gains in either house will bring to a halt many reforms much needed in the public interest of millions of Americans -- particularly those hungry children and those evicted from their homes to the streets. Only in America of the developed nations are such horrors occurring!Needless to say

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-42757013812172253002010-10-24T07:26:00.002-04:002010-10-24T07:37:49.851-04:00

So far as I can, see the Republicans have no policies apart from cutting taxes and freezing our budgets. Needless to say both spell disaster for our economy. Obama and his team will be there to point out these obvious facts to an increasingly disenchanted public.The Republicans will be held accountable for each new falling bridge, extended blackouts, gas line explosions, expanding violent

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-312728430959240072010-10-23T06:46:00.002-04:002010-10-23T06:49:50.476-04:00

The internet has made it impossible to cover up the harms to innocents in the course of waging wars. Wikileaks' latest on Iraq tells the sad tale how we divided a nation with three conflicting tribal groups -- Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis -- who look ready to return to yet another civil war. Many thousands have been driven out of their homes where another Muslim group is dominant. The Sunnis

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-41196286228223348842010-10-22T07:49:00.003-04:002010-10-23T05:38:39.949-04:00

In his OP-ED piece today, British Fashion Victims, Paul Krugman warns that their new conservative government's plan to slash budgets and lay off 490,000 workers will produce economic disaster there -- and elsewhere that this new fad is employed. History tells us that this has happened in the past. In Krugman's words: "What happens now? Maybe Britain will get lucky, and something will come along

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-39495175241602687962010-10-21T07:22:00.003-04:002010-10-21T07:36:05.708-04:00

The U.S. has lost or nearly lost every war in which it has engaged since WW2. We had to get out of Vietnam, MacArthur nearly lost us the Korean was and was fired by Truman for disobedience. First he insisted on losing lives attacking Japanese held islands that could have been bypassed. Then he ignored the Chinese threat to attack if we approached their border which he did and they did. We

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-33119547372068501302010-10-20T07:08:00.001-04:002010-10-20T07:14:55.194-04:00

With all due respects there is no way that the Israelis will allow the Palestinians to have a decent life. It has many of them in its jails. One of its major parties would like to expel all Palestinians from its thousands of years old original borders. The U.S. does not want to lose the pro Israel vote and so protects Israel from Muslims attacks. The Iranian potential to develop a nuclear

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-18800005599556262742010-10-19T07:41:00.002-04:002010-10-19T07:57:39.927-04:00

As the Bob Herbert's fragment from today's NY Times Op-ed below suggests, Americans are running scared -- they are afraid both for themselves and the nation. Who knows what the outcome of the November elections will be? If the Republicans win one or both houses, they have no policies to solve our problems -- more money blown on wars rather than creating jobs directed at repairing out

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-22625408370993129542010-10-18T06:50:00.003-04:002010-10-18T07:07:39.355-04:00

The Krugman Op-Ed in today's NY Times tells it as it is -- fragment of which is below. China is becoming the world's #1 superpower and outrunning us as did Western Europe after WW2 when we also dawdled while our competitors modernized and produced cheaper products, e.g. steel.Our nation is increasingly being run by our super rich who care for CEO profits while downing stock holders and losing

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-47099845263195920732010-10-15T09:40:00.001-04:002010-10-15T09:42:56.770-04:00

Obama has been powerless to curb these violations of our interests -- the general public. He inherited an economy on the edge of collapse, was blocked by Republican vetoes from major reforms. If the Tea Party Republicans now take over the country as well as our media we may see a total collapse of an outdated national mentality. It is no longer post WW2 when we had the upper hand as Europe

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-40419923739095902012010-10-15T07:20:00.003-04:002010-10-15T07:30:03.372-04:00

My mortgage has bounced around several times -- now to a bank with a reputation for cheating here and there. It looks as though our mortgage/house seizures are an ungodly mess. I am waiting to hear that a property of mine without a mortgage has been seized -- as was the Florida man mentioned in Krugman's piece below.Needless to say with the job market a mess, unqualified people are grabbing

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-64192236334264744432010-10-14T07:26:00.002-04:002010-10-14T07:31:27.073-04:00

My children felt free to study what they really enjoyed and did well at them. But I wonder how many are now choosing job directed things? Those who have been there and experienced job (money) success know that it does not bring happiness. The numbers of divorces are indicative and heart-breaking in such cases.Caring human relationships are what make life worth living. One could see that with

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-30252432243192533532010-10-13T07:45:00.003-04:002010-10-13T07:57:41.494-04:00

Amidst all the grim suffering going on in the world, we occasionally have some fantastically great things, too. The miners are now being pulled out, one by one, from the mine in Chile. This is truly an amazing tale. It is incredible that regular guys could survive first by sharing small bits of food left in their shelter. Then that they be located. And now a quicker solution has been devised

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-74745680193888530982010-10-12T07:47:00.001-04:002010-10-12T07:50:30.678-04:00

The fragment below from Bob Herbert's op-ed today tells us what was not so long ago. But let's face it. Racism endures in the U.S. -- those police shootings of innocents, spying on protesters, conning blacks into thinking of crimes for which they face life sentences, etc. The current job pressures are simply reinstating the racism from which the Obama election seemed to imply the end. But the

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-58841927791393376802010-10-11T07:33:00.002-04:002010-10-11T07:40:11.774-04:00

I was horrified to read of the number of juvenile 'prisons' in NY this morning. Most of these are located far from the homes of the offenders and so from family support. Needless to say there is racial bias at work in locking up kids. I know from the experience of a close friend who provided medical care in one such facility that these kids are all too often brutalized -- either by staff or

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-18737080565483454602010-10-09T08:12:00.002-04:002010-10-09T08:15:23.336-04:00

I cannot understand where American compassion for those in need has gone. I guess when people are scared, many put their own interests ahead of others. Thank God we have some heroes out there and that some of us give a damn about others.I worked on property theory when doing my dissertation. Back in those days in the mid sixties we had a balance between three interest groups -- businesses,

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-79842914188614818612010-10-08T11:33:00.001-04:002010-10-08T11:36:55.299-04:00

Sadly the U.S. is still trapped in a military mind set. The rest of the globe is thinking and doing economic things. Our job failure is part of this pattern. We have good military people killing or being killed -- and committing suicide. As I have said before, we seem now to be substituting Islam for the old Soviet Union.Our pols are in disarray on both these issues. And Obama seems

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-76899285641350030002010-10-06T07:13:00.002-04:002010-10-06T07:21:17.503-04:00

Yesterday the History channel ran a two hour summary of the state of our U.S. infrastructure systems -- bridges, dams, roads, electrical, water, sewage systems, etc. The upshot was terrifying! If a certain dam should be downed by a mild earthquake in California, the southern half of the state would be left without water -- 20 million people. The numbers of bridges ready to fall is in the

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-50378155579681461752010-10-05T05:40:00.004-04:002010-10-05T05:59:02.654-04:00

Obama may meet his timeline for ending the war with Afghanistan -- not at his choice but that of a combination of Americans and Pakistanis blocking our main entry route through their territory. They have had it with us killing Pakistanis and some may well support the Taliban resistance to us.Western colonialism over the centuries has created artificial states in the Middle East (and elsewhere)

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-61743580648041926862010-10-04T06:34:00.003-04:002010-10-04T06:46:59.401-04:00

The Koch brothers (sounds like "coke") are among the nation's wealthiest billionaires. They have founded a dozen or more innocent sounding organizations that, as well as buying the current elections and attacking Obama and the Dems, are also funding destructive agencies. They are oil guys as well as owning about everything one can imagine -- including the 'charities' to which they contribute and

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-20325031639925280972010-10-03T08:03:00.002-04:002010-10-03T08:07:03.562-04:00

Rick Sanchez was one of my favorite commentators. I was startled to learn that he had been fired by CNN for what were viewed as controversial statements. To put things a bit in perspective when I was a kid (WWII era), Jews were excluded from most social and business activities in the U.S. My grandfathers both protested in their times and with the Holocaust things changed. It is ironic now

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-32187964846301467552010-10-02T07:19:00.001-04:002010-10-02T07:22:24.347-04:00

I was startled to see no U.S. news reports that Pakistan has blocked the route where 9/10 of our supplies for our troops fighting in Afghanistan must pass or that 30 of our stalled oil trucks had been destroyed. We are not loved by the Pakistanis and this may mean the end of our 'war' on Afghanistan as well. It took a British paper, the Guardian, to bring this military disaster to our attention

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9702868.post-11390408843673781312010-09-28T07:24:00.004-04:002010-09-28T07:42:10.251-04:00

Sadly the U.S. is still fighting the old Soviet Union -- or Muslims now? Our Secretary of Defense has a running battle with the pols who support military construction in their locales. We are supplying the bulk of the world's military equipment -- including that being used against our troops. Obama sadly continued the 'wars' against terrorism -- with the potential civil war again between the

Ed Kenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03277586441104243683noreply@blogger.com0