Work Ethic

Paul Ryan Self Destructs Any Chance To Run For President!

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, who this blogger spent a lot of time working to undermine his Vice Presidential candidacy in 2012, and got blasted for it by right wing websites and bloggers, has again shown further evidence of what a terrible choice Mitt Romney made in his Presidential race, in selecting Ryan to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency!

Ryan, who knows nothing about budgets, except that the poor, the elderly, the disabled, veterans, and the young should see cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and other social programs; and there should be no extension of unemployment compensation for desperately unemployed people; and there should be no rise in the minimum wage, now has gone off the “deep end” with his assertion that those who live in the “inner cities” have no sense of the importance of work, and have not worked for generations!

This is a direct and racist assault on African Americans in particular, but also on Hispanics and Latinos, who are a majority of the poor in the urban areas of our nation.

But Ryan acts as if it is only minorities who are poor, and are unemployed, and in some cases, have not worked in a long time. From this statement, one would think that whites are not poor, that they all work, that they all have a heritage of understanding the point of work, and nothing could be further from the truth!

It is a fact, and always has been, that the vast majority of the poor do not live in cities, and are not minorities, although one would think so from a stereotype!

The fact is that there are millions of whites who live in the rural and suburban areas of the nation, and many are them do not work, have no hope of work, and live in depressed conditions often worse than urban slums. Many of these people are living in “Red” states, where Republicans vote to hurt their own constituents, while making it seem as if only minorities do not work, or have no work ethic. They live in Appalachia, the Great Plains, the Rockies, in comparatively sparsely populated areas, as compared to the urban areas on the East and West Coasts.

More whites receive food stamps, and the level of poverty percentage wise is higher in such places as Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska.

It is the lack of education; the tendency to have large families which are also dysfunctional; the reality of drugs and alcohol; the refusal of these state governments to give a damn about their white poor, along with minority poor; and the tendency to turn poor whites against poor minorities so that the GOP can keep power in the House and in the state legislatures, which is destroying generation after generation of deprived people of all races!

Only when there is a REAL war on poverty, instead of exploiting the issue based upon race, as Paul Ryan has now done, will we ever be able to guarantee a good future for millions of whites, as well as African Americans and Latinos!

And Paul Ryan, your potential Presidential candidacy is dead in the water, and while you might run, you have forfeited any realistic chance to be President of the United States, but that was clear, anyway, in 2012!

Conservatives, Republicans, The “Work Ethic”, And The “Big Lie” Technique!

Conservatives and the Republican Party LOVE to promote the virtues of WORK, while at the same time, the Republicans in Congress have set up a work schedule which is far fewer days than when the Democrats controlled the House!

Conservatives and the Republican Party talk about work, but in their mind, their goal is to make people work more hours and years than is healthy for any human being, because by refusing to raise the minimum wage, cutting unemployment compensation to victims of the Great Recession, and cutting food stamps, and therefore, nutrition to women and children and the elderly, it forces people to take low wage jobs if they can get them, work two to three to four part time jobs, raising their chance of getting sick, and then, going into bankruptcy as a result. And the thought of EVER retiring or cutting back on work hours is a distant dream for millions of Americans being victimized by the greed and selfishness of the power elite!

The thought that people should have time for a real vacation; or to take off time for the family; or to start a new business or pursue education–all of these become impossible because conservatives and the GOP are out to exploit the American people, make the middle class poorer, and kick the poor around, including encouraging larger families than people can afford, by denying contraception and abortion, and instead, promoting government interference in the personal and private lives of all of us!

Meanwhile, the ruling class works less and less, gets more vacations, mistreats the people who serve their every whim, and look with disdain on the “slave labor” that they are promoting by their lack of compassion, empathy, and basic decency about those struggling to survive and have a little security and contentment, as that does not benefit the corporations and the top few percent who boss everyone else around and think they are working very hard!

This situation is very dangerous, almost a powder keg, as when finally the American people realize what is happening, it could lead to violent results, which would benefit absolutely no one!

And conservatives and the Republican Party utilizing the “Big Lie” technique about ObamaCare and everything else that has occurred under the Obama Presidency will eventually reverberate on them as well, when it is understood that they have been totally unconcerned about the American people, and the reaction will not be pretty!

The Growing Movement Against School Homework: A Major Mistake!

At a time when school achievement is declining rapidly, and America’s schoolchildren are demonstrating less and less general knowledge of all areas of learning at all grade levels, a movement is on to cut back, and in many cases, end school homework, and that is a major mistake!

Of course, children do not like homework, anymore than most people love going to work daily. But that is not the point to be considered!

Homework assists learning, and with the school day and year as short as it is, and so much time wasted in school as it is, homework becomes even more important to teach work habits, and to promote basic skills and acquisition of general knowledge.

It is all good and fine that parents assist children in sports, music, and other social activities outside of school.

It is also good that children should have some time for themselves and to do what they want in their spare time.

But in order to promote deeper thought and analysis skills, a substantial commitment to homework, but challenging work that requires real involvement in use of computer research, is essential.

Children must learn that computers and technology are not just for social media and playing video games, but also for real acquisition of general knowledge in all areas of the curriculum to create a work ethic for adulthood!

Educational Reality: Women Surpass Men At All Levels Of Degrees!

A growing trend in recent years has now become even more evident: Women in much greater numbers are attending colleges and universities, and finishing bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees at greater rates than men in most fields!

This is a fantastic development for women, and can be attributed to their work ethic, their ambition, their realization of the need to be self supporting, and their level of maturity and responsibility!

But at the same time, this is a sad commentary on what is happening nationwide to college age males, who more than ever are delaying or totally skipping higher education, and instead choosing to go into the military or learn a trade if they are responsible, or unfortunately, in many cases, going from low wage job to low wage job and thinking of work as a means to just meet minimum responsibilities and concentrate on having fun, therefore demonstrating lack of responsibility and maturity! ๐Ÿ™

This poor attitude on the part of males may be connected to the fact that many have not had a father in their lives, or if so, not a good role model! It is also partly the attitude that many males seem to have, that it is not “cool” to be a good student and to be educated!

It makes one wonder if many women now foresee a future of a career without children, as the normal view is that women wish to marry up in social and economic terms, and that may not be possible with the growing poor attitude toward work, education and career being demonstrated by many in the younger generation of males! ๐Ÿ™

This is indeed a long range problem for America–the lack of ambition of many young men who think life is just partying and fun! If it continues, it is the downfall of traditional American values! ๐Ÿ™

The Coming Collapse Of Print Newspapers And Periodicals! A Sign Of Reading Decline And Loss Of The Work Ethic!

As part of the economic recession that America has been experiencing for the past few years, we are, tragically, witnessing the rapid decline, and in many ways, collapse of print media in America! ๐Ÿ™

After seeing earlier the disappearance of daily newspapers in Seattle and Denver, and the rapid loss of advertising revenue and circulation of many other daily newspapers, causing major layoffs at even leading newspapers, such as the NY Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, we are now also witnessing the apparent end of the Washington Times, and even of news magazines on a weekly basis. ๐Ÿ™

The Washington Post is out to sell Newsweek, which it has owned since 1961, and which has been in publication since 1933. Time Magazine is also losing its advertising and circulation base rapidly, and US News and World Report went from a weekly to a monthly in 2008. ๐Ÿ™

It is not just the economic crisis, but also the rapid growth of cable and the internet and blogs which has caused the deterioration of the print media.

But also, there are signs that the decline of daily newspapers and weekly news magazines in print is due to the accelerating downturn of READING by millions of Americans, not only the young who would rather spend time on social media and listening to music, but also their parents and older people in general. ๐Ÿ™

With this rapid collapse of reading, we are in danger as a nation of becoming more ignorant and dumb, and that is a danger sign for democracy, as demagogues can more easily manipulate those who are ill informed! ๐Ÿ™

It is also a threat for the work ethic and the sustainability of a society, in which the motivation to work and contribute is lost to many younger people who care more about fun and entertainment than work and responsibility! ๐Ÿ™

When the work ethic and ambition and desire to learn is lost, as it is rapidly occurring even in the colleges of the nation, the United States is entering a crisis of massive proportions! ๐Ÿ™

How can a nation advance and progress, and remain a world leader, if educational standards and reading are in rapid decline, and it is considered that it is, somehow, good, to be ignorant and dumb? ๐Ÿ™