Whatever happened...?

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Tom Tomorrow (quoted and added to by Mark Shea) has this right!

Capitalism is Not Sacred Tradition

"…and original sin affects all the works of man, including his invention, the giant corporation:"

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More news

of the lengths that free enterprise will go to part you and your money.

For men:

New Yankee Candle Scent Smells Like a 'Man Cave'

I'll take '2x4'!

Good grief. I didn't know I needed this. I guess that's why I let business direct my life...

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And this is why

I argue that today Christians can't be Capitalists - because the very Capitalism espoused below has become mainstream.

Profit with No (Real) Gain: “Why I’m Leaving Goldman Sachs”

"Many proponents of capitalism, particularly the libertarian/Ayn Rand (Ayn Rand, so far away)-kind, argue that self-interest is good morally and beneficial economically."

Ah, Ayn Rand, the pin-up girl (would she ever hate THAT description) of the newly liberated first and second-year university students! In our culture today, the earliest 'me' generation has become the purveyor of all that is evil about Capitalism...

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A nice light snack

Buying the Body of Christ

This is a very interesting article. You can see how it has been many things that have contributed to the declining vocations issue and the loss of work within the convents. Mind you, in our current culture it would be demeaning to think that it would have to be the women religious who make the hosts. An issue of human rights!

On another note, when my father and I were helping to remove discarded items from an old convent that was being torn down, we found a host mold and a bunch of host cutters. The mold was two engraved flat plates that were welded to the ends of two rods and put together like a clamp. The dough was placed between the plates and baked in an open oven, then taken out to cool while the process was repeated over and over. They were cut, with the round cutters, at some point. The 'new nuns', the 'nuns of the '60's and early '70's' were just throwing out these items of historical importance. We salvaged them, Dad had a case made for them and we donated them to a local museum that focuses on the early years of the province. A great save!

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They have no shame

when it comes to serving the god they serve.

Wall St's Latest Shameless Ploy to Fleece You

"The industry's effort to overturn new regulations could push public anger past the point of no return."

I hope it does. It's what we need...

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Yes!

Along with making life easier for those who just can't get their Christmas shopping done (a secondary effect) this would go so far in showing the world what a consumer culture we are, allow us to put the real meaning back into Christmas, and show how the consumer system of economy is so fragile...

Occupy Christmas: Adbusters, Instigator Of Protests, Urges Anti-Consumerist Holiday

So, I'm in favour...

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I agree - why not make Thanksgiving Happy for Other Americans

Shop on Thanksgiving No Thanks

"To get these things, and also long-overdue labor law reform, we need more workers willing to stand up like petitioners Hardwick and Melaragni and the Long Island Target workers, and we need consumers to recognize that they're workers, too, and that paying the lowest prices has a hidden cost for their children and our society. That cost is less opportunity for good jobs, more job offshoring and an ever-declining standard of living."

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Why is it so hot in here?

And why are we in this handbasket?

Would You Buy Your Toddler French ‘Loungerie?’

Does our culture despise purity and virginity so much that this is the sort of thing they sell? Can't children be children? Do we have to sexualize everything?

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This is why they're scary

An Atheist Icon? Social Conservatives Worried About GOP Ayn Rand Resurgence

The philosophy of selfishness is the philosophy of capitalism and individualism to many American politicos, even 'Christian' ones...

"- Paul Ryan says Ayn Rand is the reason he entered politics and he requires all staff and interns to read her books. Says Ryan: "Ayn Rand more than anyone else did a fantastic job of explaining the morality of capitalism, the morality of individualism."
- Clarence Thomas requires his law clerks to watch The Fountainhead, and has said "I tend really to be partial to Ayn Rand."
- Sen. Ron Johnson, Ryan's GOP colleague from Wisconsin, calls Atlas Shrugged his "foundational book."
- Rush Limbaugh calls Ayn Rand "the brilliant writer and novelist."
- Fox News repeatedly promoted the recently released movie version of Atlas Shrugged, airing the trailer on several shows and interviewing cast members."

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Get this book!

The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change

This is such an important book that I think everyone should read it. I linked directly to the Amazon.ca site for it in hardcover, but it is available in paperback now as well. This isn't any kind of through-link that pays me a fee if you use it. I get nothing. I just think it's so important that more people read this book and become converts, so to speak, to change. I bought my copy at Coles, as a remainder, for about 7 or 8 dollars, so it doesn't have to be expensive. Perhaps see if your library has it. Just read it!

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While he makes valid points...

Charles Lewis: Jack Layton’s credit card cure is worse than the disease

...they're valid only because we, as consumers, should be reducing or eliminating our debt. What he doesn't say, in his defense of all that is holy in the world of capitalism, is that if your name was Luigi (yes, I'm using a stereotype to make a point), and you loaned money and charged the interest rate the banks charge on credit cards, you'd be arrested and you'd likely go to jail.

Just because consumers should rein in their debt doesn't mean that it's not immoral and unethical to charge the interest rates that the banks charge. One doesn't exculpate the other. It doesn't mean that it isn't unethical or immoral to charge 12% on a consumer loan but give 1/4 of 1% interest on a savings account.

In Canada, banks are chartered to legally take as much money from you as possible and give as little back as possible. I really think that, once people get their debt under control, they should stop using banks. Why continue being a tool of the unethical and immoral capitalists?

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Or...

...aid us in our rush to self-destruction.

Five Innovations That Will Change The World in Five Years

Innovation driven by Capitalism is not something I'm too willing to put my faith in...

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Systemic?

US oil spill: 'Bad management' led to BP disaster

"...the presidential commission said the failures were "systemic" and likely to recur."

And just what is the real system responsible?

Guess.

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Individuals less ethical than politicians?

It's hard to believe that it is possible, but it seems so...

Big boss, big pay

"That means by 2:30 p.m. Monday (January 3, 2011 - ed.), the first working day of the year, those CEOs will have earned the full year's wage of the average Canadian..."

And that's when the economy isn't so great. They get paid enormous sums for weathering the bad years, or for taking part in creating the bad years (see the Wall Street and sub-prime mortgage banking scandals as examples) and then they get even larger bonuses when the economy is good. And, as the article explains, a lot of it is underwritten by the taxpayer.

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I heard on the news this evening

that, essentially, the Harper government wants to offload the Canada Pension Plan to private business. They want to give billions of the taxpayer's dollars to the business community. You know, the people who give themselves millions of dollars in bonuses for destroying the economy. Now THERE'S a criminal conspiracy!

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An interesting article

from a right-wing perspectice...

A Hidden History of Evil

"Why doesn’t anyone care about the unread Soviet archives?"

While I, too, am appalled to read about the uncaring response by the Russian Premier to killings, deaths and tragedies, anyone who doesn't think that politicians in the West have had similar attitudes (and made similar comments) to similar sorts of events because of their ideology is either trying to fool themselves or others, or both. I find that just a little disingenuous...

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A terrifying example

of State Communism and State Capitalism...

Worker Suicides Have Electronics Maker Uneasy in China

"A series of apparent suicides has shaken the management of Foxconn, an electronics manufacturer that builds parts and assembles products for many Silicon Valley firms. Hundreds of thousands of people live and work at a Foxconn factory complex in southern China, in what critics say are sweat-shop conditions."

...which also gives me qualms about technology choices. It appears that neither platform, PC or Mac, is exempt...

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Oh, that's their (and perhaps the church's) opinion...

...it doesn't really matter in the real world, does it?

Catholic scholars say those who thwart labor unions commit mortal sin

The mass of Catholic employers are unaware that the Catholic chuch even has a position on labour, and, as usual, they will ignore whatever they think is incorrect or 'socialistic' in the church teachings. Particularly now, when people are more 'cafeteria Catholics' than they used to be. Some of the Catholic employers are the most right-wing, anti-union people you'll ever find...

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Sure.

Prosecutors Ask if 8 Banks Duped Rating Agencies

The government will find the corporate crooks guilty, they'll pay a big fine, service charges to the little people who use the bank will go up to pay for the fine (you wouldn't want to penalize those poor corporate customers, would you? It wasn't their fault.) and the bank executives will get obscenely huge bonuses for dealing with the issue successfully. Can you see it all happening already?

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