Category: ethics

guns in the home: more suicide, increased risk for women, more likely to be used for crime than self-defense

On By Rick McIn education, ethics, firearms, GOP USA, government, product complaintsLeave a comment

David Hemenway, professor at the Harvard School of Public Health:

… to qualify for the survey the researcher should have published on firearms in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and that he or she should be an active scientist — someone who had published an article in the last four years. I was interested in social science and policy issues, so I wanted the articles to be directly relevant. …

So,for example, one survey asked whether having a gun in the home increased the risk of suicide. An overwhelming share of the 150 people who responded, 84%, said yes. …

I also found widespread confidence that a gun in the home increases the risk that a woman living in the home will be a victim of homicide (72% agree, 11% disagree) and that a gun in the home makes it a more dangerous place to be (64%) rather than a safer place (5%). There is consensus that guns are not used in self-defense far more often than they are used in crime (73% vs. 8%) and that the change to more permissive gun carrying laws has not reduced crime rates (62% vs. 9%). Finally, there is consensus that strong gun laws reduce homicide (71% vs. 12%). …

LA Times – There’s scientific consensus on guns — and the NRA won’t like it

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That all said, if you still want to own firearms, please handle them responsibly.

Neither myself or Obama is coming for your guns. 🙂

Norway tops the Social Progress Index

On By Rick McIn economics, education, ethics, government, happiness, health & fitness, Islam, travelLeave a comment

Gross Domestic Product has become the yardstick by which we measure a country’s success. But, says Michael Green, GDP isn’t the best way to measure a good society.

His alternative? The Social Progress Index, which measures things like basic human needs and opportunity. …

The Social Progress Index determines what it means to be a good society according to three dimensions: Basic Human Needs (food, water, shelter, safety); Foundations of Wellbeing (basic education, information, health and a sustainable environment); and Opportunity (do people have rights, freedom of choice, freedom from discrimination, and access to higher education?) …

Norway

Some countries over-perform on social progress relative to their GDP per capita. Costa Rica is the biggest aggregate over-performer, showing strength across all the dimensions. The key lesson here is that building social progress takes persistence. Costa Rica has had strong education, health and welfare systems for a long time, as well as a long democratic tradition. SPI measures outcomes — life expectancy, literacy rate — not inputs, like laws passed or money spent. There are no cheats or quick fixes

WHY WE SHOULDN’T JUDGE A COUNTRY BY ITS GDP

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Saudi Arabia is the biggest underachiever. I’ve just arrived … Actually I’m scheduled to get to San Jose, Costa Rica May 1st, my first visit.

American politicians are liars

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, product endorsementsLeave a comment

And many, in the past, were able to get away with it. It’s getting tougher now due to an increase in fact checking.

Bachmann was a fact-checker’s dream because she was prominent, she got lots of attention, and she didn’t mind throwing out easily disprovable statistics. …

Why Fact-Checkers Find More GOP Lies

Bachman

Gov. Scott Walker is a leading candidate, right now, for the title of the candidate who lies most.

“More than eight in ten Americans (84%) say they have a favorable view of fact-checking …”

Rapid Growth

A second study found that fact-checking stories increased by 300 percent in the four years between the 2008 presidential election year and 2012. …

factcheck.org – Fact-Checking Is More Popular than Politicians

Here are three of the best sites:

• PolitiFact’s Truth-O-Meter

• Washington Post Fact Checker

• FactCheck.org

FactCheck.org is my favourite.

trickle-down #voodoonomics

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, GOP USALeave a comment

Nonsense perpetuated by the rich. 😦

“Trickle-down economics“, also referred to as “trickle-down theory”, chiefly and originally in United States politics, is the idea that economic benefits provided to businesses and upper income levels, or money appropriated by government via taxation, will indirectly benefit poorer members of society when the resources inevitably “trickle down” to them.

The term has been attributed to humorist Will Rogers, who said during the Great Depression that “money was all appropriated for the top in hopes that it would trickle down to the needy.

In more recent history, the theory is most closely identified with critics of the economic policies known as “Reaganomics” or laissez-faire. David Stockman, who as Reagan’s budget director championed these cuts at first but then became skeptical of them …

See this cartoon on Facebook.

gundamentalist child

On By Rick McIn education, ethics, firearms, GOP USA1 Comment

Some children grow up in poverty, lacking food and sanitation, while others are born in countries where basic necessities are taken for granted. Photographer James Mollison came up with the project when he thought about his own childhood bedroom and how it reflected who he was. Where Children Sleep – a collection of stories about children from around the world told through portraits of their bedrooms – stemmed from his ideas.

16 Powerful Photos Of Children And Their Bedrooms From Across The World

I’m most worried for Joey, age-11, from Kentucky.

Joey Kentucky

Joey Kentucky2

What could go wrong for this kid? 😦

House of Cards – season 3

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, product endorsements, TVLeave a comment

Robin Wright was excellent again this year. As she always is. Directed two of the episodes.

Lars Mikkelsen is superb as Russian President Viktor Petrov (More evil than Putin!)

Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper should win any and all supporting actor awards this year.

Mahershala Ali is very believable as Remy Danton. Derek Cecil is superb too as Seth Grayson.

Spacey? Well. You love ‘im or you hate ‘im. I guess that’s great acting. It’s a very good role.

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Even with the fairly unbelievable plot lines, House of Cards is must viewing.

boycott Kroger’s Supermarket

On By Rick McIn education, ethics, firearms, GOP USA, government, product complaints3 Comments

Stop shopping at Kroger’s until they stop open carry of guns.

Groceries not Guns

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I was in Oklahoma last week. Pretty much every establishment I entered had either a “No Guns” sign. Or a “No unlicensed Guns” sign. Kroger’s does not. Boycott.

good ol’ boy on racism

On By Rick McIn ethics, GOP USALeave a comment

I’m in Texas. There are plenty of rednecks here. Not many poets. 🙂

Here’s a reformed, racist … truck poet.

NSFW language, yet somehow appropriately used. Rockin’ once told me that profanity, correctly used, is part of a good vocabulary.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Here’s another reformed racist, Dale Hansen. From Iowa, he’s today a news broadcaster in Texas. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Gwynne Dyer: why terrorism is overblown

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, GOP USA, government, IslamLeave a comment

Gwynne Dyer has an MA in military history from Rice University, Houston, Texas and a PhD in military and Middle Eastern history at King’s College London.

Let’s just admit he’s got more experience and knowledge than you or I.

DyerDon’t panic. Terrorism is a very small problem. And any western president or prime minister who thinks they’ll severely damage ISIS by dropping bombs on its fighters is terribly mistaken. …

“Well, we lost two people in the last year to terrorism and we lost about 250 a month on the roads,” Dyer said. “You know, the Americans lost 3,000 people on 9/11, but they also lost 3,000 people on the roads and another 3,000 to gunshot wounds, mostly delivered by their nearest and dearest.

“The scale of the terrorism is tiny compared to its presence in the media,” Dyer continued. “Really, we should, as much as possible, ignore it. We certainly don’t need to overreact by sending troops to the Middle East …

In fact, according to Dyer, if western countries expand their bombing campaigns against ISIS into Syria, it will only make the Islamic State stronger.

That’s because it will reinforce ISIS’s message that western infidels are attacking and killing Muslims. Dyer said that this provides a perfect recruiting tool to attract more desperate people to join their cause. …

… terrorism is “the weapon of the weak”. And he pointed out that it has been used for centuries in many parts of the world against governments to achieve very specific objectives. …

He also repeatedly characterized terrorism as a “technique” for revolutionaries “who don’t have an army, don’t have heavy weapons, and don’t have a great deal of money”. …

… the Arab world is the second poorest region in the world. Given current economic growth rates in Africa, he predicted that the Arab countries will become the poorest within 15 years.

“There’s virtually no science done in the Arab countries,” Dyer said, characterizing the region as being gripped with “poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, and despair”.

It’s to be expected that under these circumstances, revolutionary movements would emerge. …

What is the Islamic State?

Dyer acknowledged that it’s helpful for Islamists that they have a territorial base in northwestern Iraq and parts of Syria, which is known as the Islamic State. But he also emphasized that it’s a profoundly weak base, mostly open desert, with few resources. …

“Is this a great power arising that we need to worry about?” he asked. “No, it’s not. It’s astounding how little the Middle East matters. I mean, it monopolizes our news media, but the Middle East contains 10 percent of the world’s people. Only five percent of the world’s people are Arabs. And it accounts for about three percent of the world’s economy, including all the oil.”

Gwynne Dyer explains why terrorism is overblown and why Islamists want western countries to attack the Islamic State