Stuff on my Mind...Rich Good Poor Bad?

I got into a bit of a row with my friend and co-worker yesterday. It really upset me because she basically idolizes rich people. But what really boiled my blood was she practically accused all poor people everywhere of being a bunch of lazy good for nothing slobs. She has the typical right-wing conservative creedo of "if they're smart, they could find away to become rich." I took personal offense to that. I've grown up around people who were poorer than I. In most cases, they were the way they were either because they were not given the same opportunities, usually if they were minorities, or because they didn't have the prerequisite "intelligence" or "interests." By intelligence, I mean business or scientific aptitude (for the higher paying jobs) and by interests I mean interests in jobs such as engineering, science, business, politics, law, etc. This country favors those disciplines, rather unfairly I might add. Not only that, but this country requires you to have money for survival forcing many into a job they hate. You should be able to do what you love without having to worry about where your next meal comes from! You can't do that if you're an artist or musician (celebreties not included).

Another thing that bothered me was how she said she was against taxing the rich because then there would be "no incentive to invest money." She follows the "Reganomics" approach, give the rich tax breaks so they'll invest it and it trickles down to everyone else (aka Trickle Down Economics). NEWS FLASH...only upper middle class people invest. Rich people don't invest because THEY'RE ALREADY RICH!!! They don't NEED to invest when they have 7 figure salaries! You give them tax breaks, and they'll just hoard the money!! I say tax the damn rich people because it forces them to take social responsibility for many of the problems they themselves have caused; growing disparity between the haves and have nots, environmental damages, a large population of people whom everyday is a struggle to survive, to name a few.

Her flawed approach is typical right-wing propaganda, "work hard and you'll be rewarded." Truth is, that only works in a few cases. Most cases, its who you know, and how underhanded you are. You can't be a moral person, and become rich.

She also enjoys pointing out how conservatives are all about less government involvement. If thats true, then how come these same guys are creating laws like the Patriot Act and trying to undermine Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, and, more importantly, the Bill of Rights? Truth is, they are for less government involvement...in corporate interest. Corporate executives would love to be able to turn back the clock 100 years to the days before employee rights and protections, so they can force children to work and employees to work 18 hours/day 6 days/week for pennies. Also to the day where if there is an on the job injury, they just toss the employee into the streets and hire a new person, leaving the injured guy to fend for himself. I could go on and on.

I advocate more government involvement in the corporate world, and less involvement in my world (read the individual). Stop treating corporations like individuals and treat them for what they really are, seperate institutions that need to be monitored, regulated and enforced so that they do not take advantage of the rest of us. Do not monitor, regulate and enforce me (again, read the individual). Uphold the Bill of Rights and Civil Rights for individuals.

The Conservative Attack on the Supreme Court

I just finished reading this rather disturbing article from the New York Times:

In Alito, G.O.P. Reaps Harvest Planted in '82

It talks about how the Conservatives have been planning, much like a terrorist, to take over the Supreme Court so that they can wage war against decades of legal precedent. Think they'll stop with Roe v. Wade? Think again. I've heard on various radio programs (To The Point on NPR comes to mind) that this conservative "grassroots" movement (the quotes are because grassroots is a co-opted term that should apply only to PROgress, not the DIgress advocated by these guys) is planning to turn back the clock to the "good 'ole days" before 1932, when Civil Rights had not even been thought of and there were no such things as employee protections or benefits, and no such thing as consumer protections. Thats right, I'm talking about poisonous and deadly products just to save a buck at OUR expense, 6 day work weeks, 18 hours a day at minimum wage of $2/hr. It would be the good 'ole days....for them.

(Note: I saved the article in case the link changes or its retired by NYT)

My First Blog

Hello and welcome to my first ever blog. With this blog I wish to discuss science, its progess and the potential ramifications of discoveries; the problems of society, and what I think the solutions should be; life, where have we been and where are we going. I'll also throw in my iTunes Library of songs for those interested. I have been collecting music (from sources unnamed) for many years. Thanks to a friend of mine, I have discovered that a list of music can be generated by iTunes. Should make it relatively easy. Since she has Blogger, I can have her help me show my list on here.

One note: I like open forums of discussion, so please feel free to comment on what I have to say. But please be courteous, I dislike mean talking. Also, I do research my subjects so I won't always be just blabbering on without supporting what I say. If you find a broken link, please let me know, thanks.

Update (July 6, 2007): As you may have noticed, while I do hit upon the above subjects, this blog has turned into more of a "JD's OpEd" blog. It is intentional and I have indicated as much on my google website. As such, the blog name has been appropriately updated.