outsourcing: questions & answers

In recent weeks, President Bush claimed that outsourcing is
good for the economy. As if that offering of doublespeak
wasn't bad enough, he also said that the solution to the loss
of jobs (through outsourcing) is EDUCATION. This evokes
some questions that need serious answers.

1. Does the Pres think that middle-aged people with families,
lackluster salaries, and ever-increasing cost of living, can really
afford to quit their jobs (if they have any) and go to school?

2. In this lousy economy, how many of us can afford to go back
to school, even if we keep our jobs?

3. Assuming that our education might somehow be subsidized
by the government, we still need to support our families, which
would mean that we would have to work full time, then attend
classes, then do homework, and then try to squeeze in a couple
of hours of sleep before going to work and school the next day
while fighting to keep our eyes open and our heads up.

4. If President Bush was referring to education for younger
folks--who are probably already going to school anyway--
what solution does he suggest for outsourcing victims in
their 30's and up? Maybe we should move to India or China?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My suggestions:

1. Outsource George W. Bush.

2. Oursource the corpocrats who pull his strings.

3. Create severe tax penalties for "American" companies
that try to avoid their civic responsibilities by moving their
operations overseas, and/or by outsourcing jobs.

And, while we're at it:

4. Define the poor quality crap manufactured in foreign
sweatshops as "imported goods" (even if packaged with
"American" brand logos), and make the "American"
corporations pay import tariffs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you'd like a great resource on outsourcing and
related issues, check out Outsourcing Outrage.

a pointless post

Yes, this is a pointless, shameless effort to elevate my
blog ranking...until such time as I get the inspiration to
write something for real.

:-P

your attention, please

I've got a lot of great links on this page...
check 'em out, when you've got the time!

a new form of fascism?

Is President Bush leading us down a path towards
a "Christian" Fascism? Some people think so, and
even some Republicans and Christians are nervous
about the President's conviction that he is being
personally directed by divine will.

There's a relevant article by the Reverend Rich Lang
of Trinity United Methodist Church of Seattle posted
at the Information Clearing House website.

Check it out.

is dissent pointless?

I recently commented upon someone else's blog post,
regarding the need for people to rail against the state
of things. My comment was that we need to do more
than just bitch about things to others who think like
we do. If people outside of our sphere of perception
aren't made aware of a different way of seeing things
(ie, seeing things as they really are, without some
political 'spin'), then all we're doing is preaching to
the choir, and our efforts are wasted.

In response to my response, that blogger said:

"Corporate interests have a much louder voice. Do
you think your tired, overworked voice really stands
up to the voice of Monsanto? or Proctor and Gamble?
or Phillip Morris? or Arthur Anderson? or even TXU?
Not a chance, man."

In the face of such a disheartening thought, what does
this say about books that have been published such
as Friendly Fascism by Bertram Gross (1980), which
warned of the evils that would emerge from the shady
partnership of Big Business and Big Government?
What good does it do to produce movies such as the
2004 film The Corporation? Are these voices of
dissent just engaging in pointless monologue?

The percentage of the population who are exposed
to these truth-tellers is small, and those who need
to hear the messages the most are buying books by
right-wing pundits and listening to right-wing talk
shows (that are de facto mouthpieces for the GOP)
while complaining about the "liberal media," even
though the mainstream media are owned and con-
trolled by huge corporations, including many of
their advertisers--who have a vested interest in
keeping the masses uninformed, unquestioning,
and unswervingly consumerized.

And then, there are those with little or no interest
in things political, numbing their already dull minds
with entertainment, drugs, or some combination of
the two. The working poor--and the struggling
middle class folks who are increasingly joining their
ranks--could be a powerful force for change, if they
just cared enough to be informed, and had the time
energy, and motivation to become actively involved
in the political life of our nation.

I fear that too many of us have sunk into a tar pit
of apathy. But perhaps the next four years will
see the beginning of a new America, and fear can
be trumped by a renewed trust in the human spirit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

an afterthought:

As long as I'm engaging in wishful thinking, the
emergence of a viable third party--one immune
from corruption--would be wonderful, too!

and now, an unpaid political ad

Help fight the

war on terriers!



Re-elect George W. Bush
for Dogcatcher-in-Chief.

stupid, meaningless online tests

I AM 20% GEEK! Take the GEEK test at Fuali.com

I AM 54% TORTURED ARTIST! Take the TORTURED ARTIST test at Fuali.com

I AM 55% ASSHOLE/BITCH! Take the ASSHOLE/BITCH test at Fuali.com

happy happy happy

I was a little bummed out due to lack of inspiration--
haven't been able to write anything poetry-wise in
several days.

Then I remembered a short story that I started a
few months ago but never finished. After looking it
over, I suddenly had a burst of ideas and have now
completed it!

Other than sex, there isn't much that can give a
writer the kind of feeling that comes from creating,
especially once a project has come to fruition.