M. OLIVER HEYDORN critiques the political objective of full employment from a social credit perspective. Social credit advocates insist modern technology has rendered full employment impossible, and yet the fruits of technology, combined with a better and more just monetary system, can provide a basic income to all.

He writes:

One of the axioms of the existing economic order is the policy of ‘Full Employment’ (FE). Everyone must work for his daily bread or be dependent on those who do (via either redistributive taxation or increased public borrowings meted out in the form of welfare, unemployment insurance, pensions, etc.) when he is unable to work or when insufficient work is available.

Such a policy makes absolutely no sense. It is neither necessary nor possible to realize it.

It is not necessary because we are physically capable of producing everything that people can use with profit to themselves while only calling on a minority of the available labour force and the situation is steadily improving or deteriorating – depending on your point of view. Because of continuing (not to say ‘accelerating’) technological advancements, we can produce more and/or better with fewer and fewer people working. Indeed, it has been predicted that 50% of existing jobs in the US will be automated within 20 years. This is a hard fact of life. Insisting on full employment in the face of the fourth industrial revolution is simply puritanical foolishness which is bound to increase unnecessary strains and stresses until we reach a breaking point … from which they may be no return. (more…)

A FICTIONAL dialogue between a robot and a human being, written by Carey Henderson, a writer who has contributed perceptive comments here about popular culture.

ELLEN BROWN, author of Web of Debt, writes:

In November 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Bank of North Dakota (BND), the nation’s only state-owned depository bank, was more profitable even than J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. The author attributed this remarkable performance to the state’s oil boom; but the boom has now become an oil bust, yet the BND’s profits continue to climb. Its 2015 Annual Report, published on April 20th, boasted its most profitable year ever. (more…)

  MOTHER of God, save us from this evil man. Save us by your maternal intercessions from this antipope who uses the code language and feel-good platitudes of revolution to denigrate the moral power of femininity; who seduces so many with his shrewd and preternatural sentimentality; who reveres worldly, masculine "success;" who trades in Marxist lies; who falsely accuses men of enslaving women by not paying them equal wages; who never speaks of the destructive envy and lust for power of feminism; who implies that women are not subject to the effects of Original Sin; who evidently believes the autonomous, material condition of women is more important than the spiritual and life-giving work they do for no pay; and who never once mentions you, Holy Queen, the highest model of feminine virtue, in his despicable propaganda piece on the role of women. To thee our love and troth are given.  Pray for us, pray, bright Gate of Heaven. Sweet Day-Star! let thy beauty be  A light to draw my soul to thee. We love thee, light of sinners' eyes!  Oh let thy prayer for sinners rise. Look at us, Mother Mary! see  How piteously we look to thee.      

ALAN writes:

Do certain songs linger in the recesses of your memory and reassert themselves into your awareness from time to time?  They do for me.  Here is an example:

On some mornings in 2009, I would sit by my open window reading or writing and overhearing the happy sounds of children at play in the spacious backyard of a home nearby.

There were eight children, siblings and friends, ranging in age from infancy to about ten, and they were engaged in the innocent childhood joys of swinging, sliding, running, and laughing.  Watching them at play reminded me of my own boyhood.  I saw myself in one of the little boys.  And the thought occurred to me of how fast my transition from infant to energetic little boy must have seemed to my mother.  “Enjoy them when they’re young, because they grow up so fast,” are words I recalled hearing during my boyhood years but not fully understanding.

By 2009, I understood them perfectly.  The brevity and swiftness of life had become all too clear to me by then, and they were highlighted one day when I listened to the song “Sunrise, Sunset.”  I never saw the play for which it was written (“Fiddler on the Roof”) or the movie version.  But the song seemed to me to possess considerable merit and beauty.  Now I could understand and appreciate the lyrics far better than I did or could when I first heard that song in 1966.

That happened via the magic of radio.  I missed the Golden Age of Radio.  But I did not miss John McCormick.

The Beatles performed in St. Louis in the summer of 1966, but I did not go to see them.  I was beginning to appreciate things more refined than rock “music.” And I discovered one of them at midnight.

For thirty years, John McCormick had a midnight-to-dawn program on KMOX Radio in St. Louis.  He was “The Man Who Walks and Talks at Midnight.”  He was an old-school radio broadcaster and the best I ever heard.  His program could be heard throughout the Midwest and he was highly respected by other old-school radio broadcasters.

(more…)

A READER writes:

The latest mindless idiocy that European, Christian (at one time) millenials are wholeheartedly embracing, without thinking for a minute about what they are actually doing, is reported in The Gothamist in New York City:

Holi Phagwa is the springtime Hindu festival of colors, a ritual dating back thousands of years in honor of Sri Krishna. From a fascinating history of the tradition: “Inner illumination is the real Holi. The spring season is the manifestation of the Lord… Holi is said there to be His heart.” The celebration is visually recognizable because it features colorful powders which end up all over attendees to varying degrees, not unlike the Color Run.

There are several festivals around the city every year celebrating Holi, and Brokelyn recently questioned if they have gone from harmless celebration to cultural appropriation. “I saw it on Eat Pray Love and I was like ‘I gotta go to this,’” one attendee at a recent Holi celebration in Bushwick told them.

They are engaged in the worship of one of a multitude of silly, nightmarish pagan ‘gods,’ and proving useful tools for South Asian men seeking to find a silly white woman. I see this all the time now in New York. (more…)

KIDIST PAULOS ASRAT, an Ethiopian living in Canada, writes:

Here is an interesting article: “Asian Americans are serious about influencing US elections – and Hillary Clinton could benefit.” As it points out, Asian-Americans are now the fastest growing ethnic group in America and their numbers are expected to surpass that of black Americans by 2060. Their political influence is also rising, and they favor the Democrats.

I have, since many years now, held the belief that Asians have no interest in Western culture, and have found a fantastic loophole with which to take advantage of it. I should say “loopholes.”

Firstly, they are considered the “model” immigrant: smart, calm, easily accommodating to the white American and Canadian culture, and better than those blacks (Africans and Caribbeans), Muslims, and even Eastern Europeans.

So, they get bypassed for many transgressions, including as you point out, the fascinating academic cheating that is being detected in the upper levels of universities. This of course must apply to the work force as well.

Secondly, the women, with the blessing of their fathers and mothers, have become successful at snagging that lost and foolish white male, who destroyed his family and culture by supporting and advancing feminism, thus discarding his own women and culture. There must be a special place in hell for men who abuse their women, which also means not providing for them safe and secure homes, families and societies. (more…)

  THE ROCK star David Evans of U2 performs in the Sistine Chapel, Call Me Jorge reports.

MARY writes:

I am concerned about your support of Donald Trump. I will not take the time to list all of his moral depravities, nor his lies and corrupt behavior. Except one, he is not prolife and will continue to support Planned Parenthood. He is truly a pro-abort candidate. Can you please explain to me how you reconcile that with your support for him? No, I have never seen you outright say, ‘Vote for Trump!’ but I have never seen any negative posts about him on your site, only positive ones. Several positive ones. I am confused, and I am just curious as to your “thinking” on this, no pun intended.

        Thank you. (more…)

A READER writes:

The past several months have been some of the most tumultuous of my life, and I can say that without fear of hyperbole. One advantage to such circumstances is the heightened sense of constant reliance upon my heavenly Father, my Savior, and our blessed Mother.

On that note, I wanted to ask you if you have any recommendations of a good book or books on the topic of suffering, especially redemptive suffering. I ask because of my struggle to find holy meaning in the events of my recent months, and especially my desire to be meek and obedient during this time.

Your website continues to be a source of education, inspiration, and exhortation for me. I recommend it to anyone with whom I speak if the topic of blogs/websites/the internet comes up.

May our Father bless you as you serve him, my distant friend. (more…)

FROM MARK PERRY in The Wall Street Journal:

Based on Department of Education estimates, women will earn a disproportionate share of college degrees at every level of higher education in 2016 for the eleventh straight year. Overall, women in the Class of 2016 will earn 139 college degrees at all levels for every 100 men, and there will be a 610,000 college degree gap in favor of women for this year’s college graduates (2.195 million total degrees for women vs. 1.585 million total degrees for men). By level of degree, women will earn: a) 154 associate’s degrees for every 100 men (female majority in every year since 1978), b) 135 bachelor’s degrees for every 100 men (female majority since 1982), 139 master’s degrees for every 100 men (female majority since 1987) and 106 doctoral degrees for every 100 men (female majority since 2006). . . .

Now that there’s a huge (and growing) college degree gap in favor of women such that men have become the “second sex” in higher education, maybe it’s time to stop taxpayer funding of hundreds of women’s centers that promote a goal of gender equity that was achieved more than thirty years ago in higher education, at least in terms of earning college degrees? And perhaps the selective concern about gender imbalances in higher education should be expanded to include greater concern about the new “second sex.”

Of course, that will not happen. Feminists can still argue that there is great inequity in certain fields, such as engineering and mathematics. The reason there are not more female mathematicians is, of course, that girls are subject to “cultural norms that favor boys.” Ironically, the more women “succeed,” the more justification there is for government spending to help them “succeed.” (more…)

I'VE DONE a lousy job of keeping up with the Pizza Industrial Complex. The edible pizza take-out box might have escaped my notice if a conscientious reader had not sent me the news. No more greasy boxes in the trash. Crust and rubber mozzarella make a great container. I foresee the first office building made entirely from pizza. People can eat the walls instead of ordering out.  

MIKE KING has disrespectful things to say about a George Will column in The Washington Compost.

Source

THERE IS still much to say about Amoris Laetitia, the “apostolic exhortation,” or sexhortation, of Jorge Bergoglio — you know, that big-time celebrity who goes by the stage name of “Pope Francis.” Released on April 8, after months of anticipation, the long-winded document on marriage and family, has since resulted in an outpouring of commentaries.

You have to read Amoris, or read those worthy commentators who have read it, to appreciate how extensive its attack on the family and Christian civilization is. Francis goes so far in this staggering, pseudo-pontifical document as to say that God sometimes approves of mortal sin and that His divine laws need not be obeyed by people who don’t understand their “inherent value.” The implications for all of morality, not just sexual morality, are immense.

Imagine a murder suspect going to court and saying to the judge, “Look, I understand there are laws against murder, but I don’t understand their inherent value,” and the judge saying, “Well, if your conscience is uneasy about this law, it need not apply to you.” That’s the type of situation ethics promoted by Frank the Faker.

Granting those in “irregular situations” — the new code term for fornication and adultery — full access to the sacraments at the discretion of pastors and bishops is supposedly the worst of Amoris’s content. But the document is literally stuffed with heresies, blasphemies and pseudo-psychological garbage, most of it in code language. The Argentine Bomber is now into nuclear weaponry.

It could take a long time for all Amoris’s assaults on moral theology to be appreciated and brought to light, but hard-working, self-sacrificing analysts have accomplished a lot already. I note here some of the best critiques. Be forewarned. Delving into Amoris is like mental root canal. You might only be able to keep your mind open to it for a few minutes at a time. Novocain can’t help you as you make your way through the deceptions and gooey, sentimental doublespeak. Most people won’t have the stamina to read it or to realize just how radical it is. But even those who do read it will be thrown off guard and confused by its blasts of hot air and crafty ambiguity.

Ross Douthat in The New York Times writes: (more…)

DON VINCENZO writes:

A while back, my daughter sent me a news story about the case of the Bodnariu family in Norway, who have had their children removed from their home by the government.

There are some interesting aspects to the situation. As was described to me innumerable times when I lived in Norway, the average Norwegian goes to the Erastian (State) Lutheran Church three times in his life: when confirmed; when married, and when he dies.

You will note that the father of these children is Romanian; the mother, Norwegian, but the real problem the officials of the Norwegian nanny-state have with them is not their origins, but their intensely held religious beliefs, which they choose to instill in their offspring. Norway, like Sweden, now can remove a child from its biologial parents for a mulitude of reasons, but the use of corporal punishment and insisting the children are Biblically educated are just two. If the Norwegian welfare unit believes that there are “too many” children, they can, legally, remove the children on the assumption that they will not be taken care of properly. How, and under what conditions, they reach that conclusion cannot easily be explained, for the power of the nanny-state has far reaching implications, most of them.

There are now tens of thousands of Muslims living in Norway, many with large families. My question is whether or not the same officials of the nanny-state will be as attentive to “remove” Muslim children as they apparently are in doing so to Christian ones? (more…)

MILITARY.COM reports on the latest move toward the draft for women:

The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday approved by a narrow margin an amendment to a defense bill to require women to register for the draft.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, proposed the amendment to lift the restriction on women registering for the selective service at a committee-wide mark-up session of the proposed fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. (more…)