Some video clips
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Global Capitalism and Moral Values
A great article on JPII's economic vision -- and a blueprint for Catholic liberals.
April 5, 2005
Moral Values and Global Capitalism
John Paul II's Economic Ethics
By MARK ENGLER
New York City
A steady feature in Pope John Paul II's obituaries has been mention of his unwaveringly conservative stances on issues such as abortion, birth control, gay rights, and the ordination of women. While these positions were sources of consternation for many American Catholics, they far from represent the whole of John Paul's ethical beliefs. Particularly in his teachings about the global economy, the Pope advanced a vision of social justice that challenges narrow political debate about "moral values."
Many commentators have highlighted the Pope extensive travels throughout the world and his use of advanced telecommunications to spread his message. Less noted is the fact John Paul's vision of globalization sharply countered the pro-corporate triumphalism spread by "free trade" boosters.
Reflecting on the process of globalization during his 1998 visit to Cuba, the Pope contended that world is "witnessing the resurgence of a certain capitalist neoliberalism which subordinates the human person to blind market forces." He claimed that "[f]rom its centers of power, such neoliberalism often places unbearable burdens upon less favored countries." And he remarked with concern that "at times, unsustainable economic programs are imposed on nations as a condition for further assistance."
Coming at a moment when protests against the type of "structural adjustment" mandated by the U.S.-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund were beginning to make headlines, the targets of John Paul's condemnation were not mysterious. Because of such economic policies, the Pope argued, we "see a small number of countries growing exceedingly rich at the cost of the increasing impoverishment of a great number of other countries; as a result the wealthy grow ever wealthier, while the poor grow ever poorer."
John Paul elaborated his arguments in his 1999 exhortation, Ecclesia in America. There he asserted that the increasing global integration of the current era presents an opportunity for progress. "However," he warned, "if globalization is ruled merely by the laws of the market applied to suit the powerful, the consequences cannot but be negative." He spoke out against "unfair competition which puts the poor nations in a situation of ever increasing inferiority."
The Pope's sentiments reflected the church's wider understanding of political economy. In a 2001 address to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, John Paul reiterated the faith's teaching that "[e]thics demands that systems be attuned to the needs of man, and not that man be sacrificed for the sake of the system." Furthering this idea, the Pope insisted on "the inalienable value of the human person" who "must always be an end and not a means, a subject, not an object, not a commodity of trade."
John Paul also pointed toward an alternative to the vision of market fundamentalism that is "based on a purely economic conception of man" and "considers profit and the law of the market as its only parameters." He contended that "solidarity too must become globalized."
When he received members of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association in 2001, he called for "ethical discernment aimed at protecting the environment and promoting the full human development of millions of men and women, in a way that respects every individual's dignity and makes room for personal creativity in the workplace."
Most specifically, the Pope strongly supported the Jubilee 2000 coalition's call for thorough-going debt relief for the developing countries. He stated in 1998 that "the heavy burden of external debt... compromises the economies of whole peoples and hinders their social and political progress."
"If the aim is globalization without marginalization, we can no longer tolerate a world in which there live side by side the immensely rich and the miserably poor, the have-nots deprived even of essentials and people who thoughtlessly waste what others so desperately need. Such contrasts are an affront to the dignity of the human person."
The Pope's economic teachings were consistent with his views of political life. John Paul is rightly remembered for championing the democratic rights of people in his native Poland and elsewhere behind the Iron Curtain. Some US neoconservatives have sought to distort this legacy by presenting the Pope as an intellectual sidekick to Ronald Reagan. But John Paul's conception of democracy was not one of unchecked individual rights. Rather, he asserted that free citizens must have "a firm and persevering determination to commit [themselves] to the common good."
In this regard, John Paul operated within the moral precedent set in the Second Vatican Council's statement on The Church in the Modern World. Here the church argued that "the state has the duty to prevent people from abusing their private property to the detriment of the common good. By its nature private property has a social dimension which is based on the law of the common destination of earthly goods. Whenever the social aspect is forgotten, ownership can often become the object of greed and a source of serious disorder."
Many observers have speculated that the next Pope may be the first to come from the global South. While sharing John Paul's social conservatism, several of the most prominent candidates from the developing world (including Latin American Archbishops Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Claudio Hummes of Sao Paulo, Brazil) also hold in common with the departed pontiff an outspoken concern for global economic justice.
It is far from certain that one of these candidates will become the next Pope. Nevertheless, John Paul's economic ethics represent a legacy that will continue as an important current within the Catholic Church--and that should give pause to anyone who believes moral values are the exclusive province of the right.
Mark Engler, a writer based in New York City, is a commentator for Foreign Policy In Focus. He can be reached at engler@democrayuprising.com.
Research assistance for this article provided by Jason Rowe.
http://www.counterpunch.org/engler04052005.html
April 5, 2005
Moral Values and Global Capitalism
John Paul II's Economic Ethics
By MARK ENGLER
New York City
A steady feature in Pope John Paul II's obituaries has been mention of his unwaveringly conservative stances on issues such as abortion, birth control, gay rights, and the ordination of women. While these positions were sources of consternation for many American Catholics, they far from represent the whole of John Paul's ethical beliefs. Particularly in his teachings about the global economy, the Pope advanced a vision of social justice that challenges narrow political debate about "moral values."
Many commentators have highlighted the Pope extensive travels throughout the world and his use of advanced telecommunications to spread his message. Less noted is the fact John Paul's vision of globalization sharply countered the pro-corporate triumphalism spread by "free trade" boosters.
Reflecting on the process of globalization during his 1998 visit to Cuba, the Pope contended that world is "witnessing the resurgence of a certain capitalist neoliberalism which subordinates the human person to blind market forces." He claimed that "[f]rom its centers of power, such neoliberalism often places unbearable burdens upon less favored countries." And he remarked with concern that "at times, unsustainable economic programs are imposed on nations as a condition for further assistance."
Coming at a moment when protests against the type of "structural adjustment" mandated by the U.S.-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund were beginning to make headlines, the targets of John Paul's condemnation were not mysterious. Because of such economic policies, the Pope argued, we "see a small number of countries growing exceedingly rich at the cost of the increasing impoverishment of a great number of other countries; as a result the wealthy grow ever wealthier, while the poor grow ever poorer."
John Paul elaborated his arguments in his 1999 exhortation, Ecclesia in America. There he asserted that the increasing global integration of the current era presents an opportunity for progress. "However," he warned, "if globalization is ruled merely by the laws of the market applied to suit the powerful, the consequences cannot but be negative." He spoke out against "unfair competition which puts the poor nations in a situation of ever increasing inferiority."
The Pope's sentiments reflected the church's wider understanding of political economy. In a 2001 address to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, John Paul reiterated the faith's teaching that "[e]thics demands that systems be attuned to the needs of man, and not that man be sacrificed for the sake of the system." Furthering this idea, the Pope insisted on "the inalienable value of the human person" who "must always be an end and not a means, a subject, not an object, not a commodity of trade."
John Paul also pointed toward an alternative to the vision of market fundamentalism that is "based on a purely economic conception of man" and "considers profit and the law of the market as its only parameters." He contended that "solidarity too must become globalized."
When he received members of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association in 2001, he called for "ethical discernment aimed at protecting the environment and promoting the full human development of millions of men and women, in a way that respects every individual's dignity and makes room for personal creativity in the workplace."
Most specifically, the Pope strongly supported the Jubilee 2000 coalition's call for thorough-going debt relief for the developing countries. He stated in 1998 that "the heavy burden of external debt... compromises the economies of whole peoples and hinders their social and political progress."
"If the aim is globalization without marginalization, we can no longer tolerate a world in which there live side by side the immensely rich and the miserably poor, the have-nots deprived even of essentials and people who thoughtlessly waste what others so desperately need. Such contrasts are an affront to the dignity of the human person."
The Pope's economic teachings were consistent with his views of political life. John Paul is rightly remembered for championing the democratic rights of people in his native Poland and elsewhere behind the Iron Curtain. Some US neoconservatives have sought to distort this legacy by presenting the Pope as an intellectual sidekick to Ronald Reagan. But John Paul's conception of democracy was not one of unchecked individual rights. Rather, he asserted that free citizens must have "a firm and persevering determination to commit [themselves] to the common good."
In this regard, John Paul operated within the moral precedent set in the Second Vatican Council's statement on The Church in the Modern World. Here the church argued that "the state has the duty to prevent people from abusing their private property to the detriment of the common good. By its nature private property has a social dimension which is based on the law of the common destination of earthly goods. Whenever the social aspect is forgotten, ownership can often become the object of greed and a source of serious disorder."
Many observers have speculated that the next Pope may be the first to come from the global South. While sharing John Paul's social conservatism, several of the most prominent candidates from the developing world (including Latin American Archbishops Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Claudio Hummes of Sao Paulo, Brazil) also hold in common with the departed pontiff an outspoken concern for global economic justice.
It is far from certain that one of these candidates will become the next Pope. Nevertheless, John Paul's economic ethics represent a legacy that will continue as an important current within the Catholic Church--and that should give pause to anyone who believes moral values are the exclusive province of the right.
Mark Engler, a writer based in New York City, is a commentator for Foreign Policy In Focus. He can be reached at engler@democrayuprising.com.
Research assistance for this article provided by Jason Rowe.
http://www.counterpunch.org/engler04052005.html
Is Obama a true liberal?
From the other side of the aisle - the Investor's Business Daily:
...Of course, Obama is too smart to try to smuggle such hoary collectivist garbage through the front door. He's disguising the wealth transfers as "investments" — "to make America more competitive," he says, or "that give us a fighting chance," whatever that means.
Among his proposed "investments":
• "Universal," "guaranteed" health care.
• "Free" college tuition.
• "Universal national service" (a la Havana).
• "Universal 401(k)s" (in which the government would match contributions made by "low- and moderate-income families").
• "Free" job training (even for criminals).
• "Wage insurance" (to supplement dislocated union workers' old income levels).
• "Free" child care and "universal" preschool.
• More subsidized public housing.
• A fatter earned income tax credit for "working poor."
• And even a Global Poverty Act that amounts to a Marshall Plan for the Third World, first and foremost Africa.
His new New Deal also guarantees a "living wage," with a $10 minimum wage indexed to inflation; and "fair trade" and "fair labor practices," with breaks for "patriot employers" who cow-tow to unions, and sticks for "nonpatriot" companies that don't.
That's just for starters — first-term stuff.
Obama doesn't stop with socialized health care. He wants to socialize your entire human resources department — from payrolls to pensions. His social-microengineering even extends to mandating all employers provide seven paid sick days per year to salary and hourly workers alike.
You can see why Obama was ranked, hands-down, the most liberal member of the Senate by the National Journal. Some, including colleague and presidential challenger John McCain, think he's the most liberal member in Congress.
But could he really be "more left," as McCain recently remarked, than self-described socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (for whom Obama has openly campaigned, even making a special trip to Vermont to rally voters)?
Obama's voting record, going back to his days in the Illinois statehouse, says yes. His career path — and those who guided it — leads to the same unsettling conclusion.
The seeds of his far-left ideology were planted in his formative years as a teenager in Hawaii — and they were far more radical than any biography or profile in the media has portrayed.
A careful reading of Obama's first memoir, "Dreams From My Father," reveals that his childhood mentor up to age 18 — a man he cryptically refers to as "Frank" — was none other than the late communist Frank Marshall Davis, who fled Chicago after the FBI and Congress opened investigations into his "subversive," "un-American activities."
As Obama was preparing to head off to college, he sat at Davis' feet in his Waikiki bungalow for nightly bull sessions. Davis plied his impressionable guest with liberal doses of whiskey and advice, including: Never trust the white establishment.
"They'll train you so good," he said, "you'll start believing what they tell you about equal opportunity and the American way and all that sh**."
After college, where he palled around with Marxist professors and took in socialist conferences "for inspiration," Obama followed in Davis' footsteps, becoming a "community organizer" in Chicago.
His boss there was Gerald Kellman, whose identity Obama also tries to hide in his book. Turns out Kellman's a disciple of the late Saul "The Red" Alinsky, a hard-boiled Chicago socialist who wrote the "Rules for Radicals" and agitated for social revolution in America.
The Chicago-based Woods Fund provided Kellman with his original $25,000 to hire Obama. In turn, Obama would later serve on the Woods board with terrorist Bill Ayers of the Weather Underground. Ayers was one of Obama's early political supporters.
After three years agitating with marginal success for more welfare programs in South Side Chicago, Obama decided he would need to study law to "bring about real change" — on a large scale.
While at Harvard Law School, he still found time to hone his organizing skills. For example, he spent eight days in Los Angeles taking a national training course taught by Alinsky's Industrial Areas Foundation. With his newly minted law degree, he returned to Chicago to reapply — as well as teach — Alinsky's "agitation" tactics.
(A video-streamed bio on Obama's Web site includes a photo of him teaching in a University of Chicago classroom. If you freeze the frame and look closely at the blackboard Obama is writing on, you can make out the words "Power Analysis" and "Relationships Built on Self Interest" — terms right out of Alinsky's rule book.)
Amid all this, Obama reunited with his late father's communist tribe in Kenya, the Luo, during trips to Africa.
As a Nairobi bureaucrat, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., a Harvard-educated economist, grew to challenge the ruling pro-Western government for not being socialist enough. In an eight-page scholarly paper published in 1965, he argued for eliminating private farming and nationalizing businesses "owned by Asians and Europeans."
His ideas for communist-style expropriation didn't stop there. He also proposed massive taxes on the rich to "redistribute our economic gains to the benefit of all."
"Theoretically, there is nothing that can stop the government from taxing 100% of income so long as the people get benefits from the government commensurate with their income which is taxed," Obama Sr. wrote. "I do not see why the government cannot tax those who have more and syphon some of these revenues into savings which can be utilized in investment for future development."
Taxes and "investment" . . . the fruit truly does not fall far from the vine.
(Voters might also be interested to know that Obama, the supposed straight shooter, does not once mention his father's communist leanings in an entire book dedicated to his memory.)
In Kenya's recent civil unrest, Obama privately phoned the leader of the opposition Luo tribe, Raila Odinga, to voice his support. Odinga is so committed to communism he named his oldest son after Fidel Castro.
With his African identity sewn up, Obama returned to Chicago and fell under the spell of an Afrocentric pastor. It was a natural attraction. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright preaches a Marxist version of Christianity called "black liberation theology" and has supported the communists in Cuba, Nicaragua and elsewhere.
Obama joined Wright's militant church, pledging allegiance to a system of "black values" that demonizes white "middle classness" and other mainstream pursuits.
(Obama in his first book, published in 1995, calls such values "sensible." There's no mention of them in his new book.)
With the large church behind him, Obama decided to run for political office, where he could organize for "change" more effectively. "As an elected official," he said, "I could bring church and community leaders together easier than I could as a community organizer or lawyer."
He could also exercise real, top-down power, the kind that grass-roots activists lack. Alinsky would be proud.
Throughout his career, Obama has worked closely with a network of stone-cold socialists and full-blown communists striving for "economic justice."
He's been traveling in an orbit of collectivism that runs from Nairobi to Honolulu, and on through Chicago to Washington.
Yet a recent AP poll found that only 6% of Americans would describe Obama as "liberal," let alone socialist.
http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=302137342405551
...Of course, Obama is too smart to try to smuggle such hoary collectivist garbage through the front door. He's disguising the wealth transfers as "investments" — "to make America more competitive," he says, or "that give us a fighting chance," whatever that means.
Among his proposed "investments":
• "Universal," "guaranteed" health care.
• "Free" college tuition.
• "Universal national service" (a la Havana).
• "Universal 401(k)s" (in which the government would match contributions made by "low- and moderate-income families").
• "Free" job training (even for criminals).
• "Wage insurance" (to supplement dislocated union workers' old income levels).
• "Free" child care and "universal" preschool.
• More subsidized public housing.
• A fatter earned income tax credit for "working poor."
• And even a Global Poverty Act that amounts to a Marshall Plan for the Third World, first and foremost Africa.
His new New Deal also guarantees a "living wage," with a $10 minimum wage indexed to inflation; and "fair trade" and "fair labor practices," with breaks for "patriot employers" who cow-tow to unions, and sticks for "nonpatriot" companies that don't.
That's just for starters — first-term stuff.
Obama doesn't stop with socialized health care. He wants to socialize your entire human resources department — from payrolls to pensions. His social-microengineering even extends to mandating all employers provide seven paid sick days per year to salary and hourly workers alike.
You can see why Obama was ranked, hands-down, the most liberal member of the Senate by the National Journal. Some, including colleague and presidential challenger John McCain, think he's the most liberal member in Congress.
But could he really be "more left," as McCain recently remarked, than self-described socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (for whom Obama has openly campaigned, even making a special trip to Vermont to rally voters)?
Obama's voting record, going back to his days in the Illinois statehouse, says yes. His career path — and those who guided it — leads to the same unsettling conclusion.
The seeds of his far-left ideology were planted in his formative years as a teenager in Hawaii — and they were far more radical than any biography or profile in the media has portrayed.
A careful reading of Obama's first memoir, "Dreams From My Father," reveals that his childhood mentor up to age 18 — a man he cryptically refers to as "Frank" — was none other than the late communist Frank Marshall Davis, who fled Chicago after the FBI and Congress opened investigations into his "subversive," "un-American activities."
As Obama was preparing to head off to college, he sat at Davis' feet in his Waikiki bungalow for nightly bull sessions. Davis plied his impressionable guest with liberal doses of whiskey and advice, including: Never trust the white establishment.
"They'll train you so good," he said, "you'll start believing what they tell you about equal opportunity and the American way and all that sh**."
After college, where he palled around with Marxist professors and took in socialist conferences "for inspiration," Obama followed in Davis' footsteps, becoming a "community organizer" in Chicago.
His boss there was Gerald Kellman, whose identity Obama also tries to hide in his book. Turns out Kellman's a disciple of the late Saul "The Red" Alinsky, a hard-boiled Chicago socialist who wrote the "Rules for Radicals" and agitated for social revolution in America.
The Chicago-based Woods Fund provided Kellman with his original $25,000 to hire Obama. In turn, Obama would later serve on the Woods board with terrorist Bill Ayers of the Weather Underground. Ayers was one of Obama's early political supporters.
After three years agitating with marginal success for more welfare programs in South Side Chicago, Obama decided he would need to study law to "bring about real change" — on a large scale.
While at Harvard Law School, he still found time to hone his organizing skills. For example, he spent eight days in Los Angeles taking a national training course taught by Alinsky's Industrial Areas Foundation. With his newly minted law degree, he returned to Chicago to reapply — as well as teach — Alinsky's "agitation" tactics.
(A video-streamed bio on Obama's Web site includes a photo of him teaching in a University of Chicago classroom. If you freeze the frame and look closely at the blackboard Obama is writing on, you can make out the words "Power Analysis" and "Relationships Built on Self Interest" — terms right out of Alinsky's rule book.)
Amid all this, Obama reunited with his late father's communist tribe in Kenya, the Luo, during trips to Africa.
As a Nairobi bureaucrat, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., a Harvard-educated economist, grew to challenge the ruling pro-Western government for not being socialist enough. In an eight-page scholarly paper published in 1965, he argued for eliminating private farming and nationalizing businesses "owned by Asians and Europeans."
His ideas for communist-style expropriation didn't stop there. He also proposed massive taxes on the rich to "redistribute our economic gains to the benefit of all."
"Theoretically, there is nothing that can stop the government from taxing 100% of income so long as the people get benefits from the government commensurate with their income which is taxed," Obama Sr. wrote. "I do not see why the government cannot tax those who have more and syphon some of these revenues into savings which can be utilized in investment for future development."
Taxes and "investment" . . . the fruit truly does not fall far from the vine.
(Voters might also be interested to know that Obama, the supposed straight shooter, does not once mention his father's communist leanings in an entire book dedicated to his memory.)
In Kenya's recent civil unrest, Obama privately phoned the leader of the opposition Luo tribe, Raila Odinga, to voice his support. Odinga is so committed to communism he named his oldest son after Fidel Castro.
With his African identity sewn up, Obama returned to Chicago and fell under the spell of an Afrocentric pastor. It was a natural attraction. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright preaches a Marxist version of Christianity called "black liberation theology" and has supported the communists in Cuba, Nicaragua and elsewhere.
Obama joined Wright's militant church, pledging allegiance to a system of "black values" that demonizes white "middle classness" and other mainstream pursuits.
(Obama in his first book, published in 1995, calls such values "sensible." There's no mention of them in his new book.)
With the large church behind him, Obama decided to run for political office, where he could organize for "change" more effectively. "As an elected official," he said, "I could bring church and community leaders together easier than I could as a community organizer or lawyer."
He could also exercise real, top-down power, the kind that grass-roots activists lack. Alinsky would be proud.
Throughout his career, Obama has worked closely with a network of stone-cold socialists and full-blown communists striving for "economic justice."
He's been traveling in an orbit of collectivism that runs from Nairobi to Honolulu, and on through Chicago to Washington.
Yet a recent AP poll found that only 6% of Americans would describe Obama as "liberal," let alone socialist.
http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=302137342405551
Top 20 albums of all time
Here's the list the Yahoo article cited. Interesting formula they used. Kind of heavy on the 1970s and 80s.
#20. Faith - George Michael
Play Album
Year: 1987 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $9.19 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.79
.
#19. Appetite For Destruction - Guns N' Roses
Play Album
Year: 1987 Units Sold: 15 Million
SPV: $8.81 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.81
.
#18. Purple Rain - Prince
Play Album
Year: 1984 Units Sold: 13 Million
SPV: $8.74 Rating (Stars): 4.75 Grammys Won: 2
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.82
.
#17. Houses Of The Holy - Led Zeppelin
Play Album
Year: 1973 Units Sold: 11 Million
SPV: $9.10 Rating (Stars): 4.5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.93
.
#16. Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen
Play Album
Year: 1984 Units Sold: 15 Million
SPV: $8.91 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $10.29
.
#15. Nevermind - Nirvana
Play Album
Year: 1991 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $10.07 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $10.67
.
#14. Van Halen - Van Halen
Play Album
Year: 1978 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $10.23 Rating (Stars): 4.25 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $10.84
.
#13. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
Play Album
Year: 1977 Units Sold: 19 Million
SPV: $9.52 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $11.47
.
#12. The Wall - Pink Floyd
Play Album
Year: 1979 Units Sold: 23 Million
SPV: $10.20 Rating (Stars): 4.75 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $12.51
.
#11. The Joshua Tree - U2
Play Album
Year: 1987 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $11.50 Rating (Stars): 4.5 Grammys Won: 2
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $12.54
.
#10. Metallica - Metallica
Play Album
Year: 1991 Units Sold: 14 Million
SPV: $12.08 Rating (Stars): 4.25 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $13.38
.
#9. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Play Album
Year: 1969 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $12.83 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $13.60
.
#8. Hotel California - Eagles
Play Album
Year: 1976 Units Sold: 16 Million
SPV: $12.00 Rating (Stars): 4.75 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $13.81
.
#7. The White Album - The Beatles
Play Album
Year: 1968 Units Sold: 19 Million
SPV: $12.00 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $14.39
.
#6. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin
Play Album
Year: 1971 Units Sold: 23 Million
SPV: $12.42 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $15.44
.
#5. Abbey Road - The Beatles
Play Album
Year: 1968 Units Sold: 12 Million
SPV: $14.94 Rating (Stars): 4.25 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $16.23
.
#4. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin
Play Album
Year: 1975 Units Sold: 16 Million
SPV: $14.31 Rating (Stars): 4.75 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $16.38
.
#3. Thriller - Michael Jackson
Play Album
Year: 1982 Units Sold: 27 Million
SPV: $13.49 Rating (Stars): 4.5 Grammys Won: 4
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $17.39
.
#2. Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
Play Album
Year: 1973 Units Sold: 15 Million
SPV: $16.08 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $18.57
.
#1. Songs In The Key Of Life - Stevie Wonder
Play Album
Year: 1976 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $16.84 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 2
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $18.71
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/yradish/15499/the-top-20-albums-of-all-time-for-real
#20. Faith - George Michael
Play Album
Year: 1987 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $9.19 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.79
.
#19. Appetite For Destruction - Guns N' Roses
Play Album
Year: 1987 Units Sold: 15 Million
SPV: $8.81 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.81
.
#18. Purple Rain - Prince
Play Album
Year: 1984 Units Sold: 13 Million
SPV: $8.74 Rating (Stars): 4.75 Grammys Won: 2
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.82
.
#17. Houses Of The Holy - Led Zeppelin
Play Album
Year: 1973 Units Sold: 11 Million
SPV: $9.10 Rating (Stars): 4.5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.93
.
#16. Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen
Play Album
Year: 1984 Units Sold: 15 Million
SPV: $8.91 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $10.29
.
#15. Nevermind - Nirvana
Play Album
Year: 1991 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $10.07 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $10.67
.
#14. Van Halen - Van Halen
Play Album
Year: 1978 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $10.23 Rating (Stars): 4.25 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $10.84
.
#13. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
Play Album
Year: 1977 Units Sold: 19 Million
SPV: $9.52 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $11.47
.
#12. The Wall - Pink Floyd
Play Album
Year: 1979 Units Sold: 23 Million
SPV: $10.20 Rating (Stars): 4.75 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $12.51
.
#11. The Joshua Tree - U2
Play Album
Year: 1987 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $11.50 Rating (Stars): 4.5 Grammys Won: 2
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $12.54
.
#10. Metallica - Metallica
Play Album
Year: 1991 Units Sold: 14 Million
SPV: $12.08 Rating (Stars): 4.25 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $13.38
.
#9. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Play Album
Year: 1969 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $12.83 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $13.60
.
#8. Hotel California - Eagles
Play Album
Year: 1976 Units Sold: 16 Million
SPV: $12.00 Rating (Stars): 4.75 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $13.81
.
#7. The White Album - The Beatles
Play Album
Year: 1968 Units Sold: 19 Million
SPV: $12.00 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $14.39
.
#6. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin
Play Album
Year: 1971 Units Sold: 23 Million
SPV: $12.42 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $15.44
.
#5. Abbey Road - The Beatles
Play Album
Year: 1968 Units Sold: 12 Million
SPV: $14.94 Rating (Stars): 4.25 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $16.23
.
#4. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin
Play Album
Year: 1975 Units Sold: 16 Million
SPV: $14.31 Rating (Stars): 4.75 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $16.38
.
#3. Thriller - Michael Jackson
Play Album
Year: 1982 Units Sold: 27 Million
SPV: $13.49 Rating (Stars): 4.5 Grammys Won: 4
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $17.39
.
#2. Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
Play Album
Year: 1973 Units Sold: 15 Million
SPV: $16.08 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $18.57
.
#1. Songs In The Key Of Life - Stevie Wonder
Play Album
Year: 1976 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $16.84 Rating (Stars): 5 Grammys Won: 2
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $18.71
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/yradish/15499/the-top-20-albums-of-all-time-for-real
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Lavender lights atop the Basilica
I was passing through Minneapolis and stopped at the magnificent Basilica of St Mary, first basilica in the US. I noticed the outside lights lighting the dome were lavendar. Looking online, this parish has a GLBT outreach effort. The local gay pride festival meets in a park across the way from the Basilica. I can't think there is only a coincidence here. I think this is really remarkable. I've never seen anything like it, anything so prominent.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The Calvinist
So this Calvinist and I have been having gradually more intense theological discussions while our girls attend classes together. The school we're at is about 90% Catholic, and he's been more than happy to deal some cards on the table.
I mentioned to him I really enjoyed RC Sproul and the late D James Kennedy. I truly do - I like their intellectual depth. He was happy about that, because those guys are on his end of the spectrum of Calvinism. He was explaining to me that one of the disputes within his tradition is over whether man cooperates with God's grace or is completely passive and contributes nothing.
Being Catholic of course I am in the cooperating side of that question. But apparently that is seen as the more liberal of the two, not where RC is.
TBD.
I mentioned to him I really enjoyed RC Sproul and the late D James Kennedy. I truly do - I like their intellectual depth. He was happy about that, because those guys are on his end of the spectrum of Calvinism. He was explaining to me that one of the disputes within his tradition is over whether man cooperates with God's grace or is completely passive and contributes nothing.
Being Catholic of course I am in the cooperating side of that question. But apparently that is seen as the more liberal of the two, not where RC is.
TBD.
The Buddhist Catholic
So the other woman with us at lunch -- if I can avoid it I don't like to dine alone with women not my wife -- called herself a Buddhist Catholic. From Belgium, Catholic schools all her life, she was never really catechized, and so she's been drawn to Buddhism, and is trying to mix them. After learning I was going on a men's retreat, she said Catholics really don't do that in Europe. Except for Opus Dei she said. The Pentecostal chided her gently for not practicing her faith.
Question: is it liberal to be a non-practicing Catholic? I think people mix these two types of people together too easily. I think to be a liberal Catholic is to stand for something positive. It isn't to be less of a Catholic.
Question: is it liberal to be a non-practicing Catholic? I think people mix these two types of people together too easily. I think to be a liberal Catholic is to stand for something positive. It isn't to be less of a Catholic.
The Pentecostal
I had lunch today in San Francisco with a Nigerian Pentecostal from London. We spoke about the Lambeth conference going on in London. She mentioned with some not fully hidden pride how the Nigerians were leading the boycott of the meeting over the gay US bishop. She went on to describe how Nigeria, being the most populous country in Africa, was looked up to as a leader for the whole continent, that Catholics and Anglicans dominated the country. She was very glad to hear I was going on a men's retreat.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Liberal Catholic father of four
I had a very nice poolside conversation with a father of a bunch of children, all older than mine. I asked him how his kids turned out faith-wise. He said it's intact. But, the exterior is a little rough, and you might not be able to tell. One of the boys is in to hip hop. The father warned him about the lyrics and the subculture, but what can you tell a young man. His other boy was intent on having a more diverse experience than an all-white suburban high school, so sought out a public school with as he put it "gays and lesbians and color". We both sympathized with the desire for diversity, but, well, not so narrowly put.
The Scientologist
I had lunch with a liberal Catholic gentleman of a man whose former Catholic wife left him to pursue her Scientology ambitions. He described it as a pyramid scheme that sucks the family's finances. You have to pay to attend the Sunday services, which are billed as "courses". Fortunately she is not allowed to bring the children to them without his permission. Nonetheless, a very sad situation that I would say may have occurred while the husband was working too much and not noticing slight changes at home or nipping them in the bud. After all, men like peace at home so much they are liable to let things go on for much too long before noticing and taking action.
The Unitarian
Flying home I sat next to a cheerful woman about to get married in a non-church setting. She and her fiance were raised by Lutheran parents. Her parents fell away and raised her Unitarian, which she still is. She says she can tell when she misses the Sunday service, where they explore all kinds of different perspectives. It grounds her. She asked for my advice on marriage, and I said she should have kids within the first two years. She was also pleasant about asking what attracted me so much to Catholicism. I have to say, I couldn't think of anything brilliant, so I said it was the depth and the liberation. I said I wish everyone could experience the release of confession.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Anglicans & the UN
I stopped in at a Manhattan bookstore today run by the Episcopal Church. Of course all the attention in the broader news is on their impending approval at the Lambeth Conference to allow women bishops. Until now, they've only tolerated a few dioceses ordaining women bishops, not sanctioned it officially.
But what I found more interesting is that the Anglican Communion has made the UN's Milennium Development Goals their blueprint for evangelization.
I agree with many of the MDGs, don't get me wrong. Good old fashioned liberalism.
But I find this a bit odd. Kind of Masonic.
But what I found more interesting is that the Anglican Communion has made the UN's Milennium Development Goals their blueprint for evangelization.
I agree with many of the MDGs, don't get me wrong. Good old fashioned liberalism.
But I find this a bit odd. Kind of Masonic.
Friday, July 4, 2008
The moral vacuum of agnosticism
So we all know people who say: I am a spiritual person, not a religious person. Which is kind of like saying, I want to believe and hope in a higher force, but I don't believe there are any hard rules about right and wrong. A lot of my liberal friends are of this mindset.
And yet, these people do kind of live their lives by a sort of moral code, seeking to tell the truth, most of the time, not to steal or cheat, most of the time, not to gossip or slander, mostly. And, they do get passionate about certain political positions.
But at the root of it, they have nothing they can articulate about what is their standard for right and wrong, their criteria for living and believing a certain way.
This is called a vacuum. And, nature abhors a vacuum.
And yet, these people do kind of live their lives by a sort of moral code, seeking to tell the truth, most of the time, not to steal or cheat, most of the time, not to gossip or slander, mostly. And, they do get passionate about certain political positions.
But at the root of it, they have nothing they can articulate about what is their standard for right and wrong, their criteria for living and believing a certain way.
This is called a vacuum. And, nature abhors a vacuum.
Wall-e
We took one of our kids to see Wall-e, because it looked like a cute movie about a romance between two robots.
It was bizarre. A very adult commentary on the ill state of the world, with very dark undercurrents, a disjointed plot, and no real joy at the end like we used to see in the great movies.
Even our kid said, "And what was the point of that movie? It was weird."
Thumbs down.
It was bizarre. A very adult commentary on the ill state of the world, with very dark undercurrents, a disjointed plot, and no real joy at the end like we used to see in the great movies.
Even our kid said, "And what was the point of that movie? It was weird."
Thumbs down.
The Mason
I spent an enjoyable evening with a formerly active Freemason -- you know, the organization that opposes Christianity in general, and Catholicism in particular. He was aware that both the Missouri Synod of Lutherans and Catholic Church forbade their members to be masons. But he thought that Catholics could now be members, since he knew of several. And, he couldn't understand what was so bad about the masons, since they did so much charity work. Her personally didn't see the conflict between his mainline Protestant upbringing and being a mason.
Despite this, he is a perfect gentleman, with many human virtues. Welcome to the prayer list sir.
Despite this, he is a perfect gentleman, with many human virtues. Welcome to the prayer list sir.
The French want Obama
From the Daily Kos:
"But right now, in French eyes, there's a single good American: the Democratic Party nominee, Barack Obama. His book, "The Audacity of Hope," is on bestseller lists. His face is everywhere, sometimes in socialist realist images evoking Che Guevara.
"An online committee for his election has drawn all-star support, including the fashion designer Sonia Rykiel, the Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë, the writer-philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, and Pierre Bergé, the partner of the late Yves Saint-Laurent.
"The French have always cherished a class of people called "les bons Américains." These good Americans were those truest to a Gallic idea of what the United States should be, and in recent years those at the furthest remove from the aberrant folk who elected George W. Bush."
So, the French also wanted Gore and Kerry. Not sure this helps him.
"But right now, in French eyes, there's a single good American: the Democratic Party nominee, Barack Obama. His book, "The Audacity of Hope," is on bestseller lists. His face is everywhere, sometimes in socialist realist images evoking Che Guevara.
"An online committee for his election has drawn all-star support, including the fashion designer Sonia Rykiel, the Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë, the writer-philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, and Pierre Bergé, the partner of the late Yves Saint-Laurent.
"The French have always cherished a class of people called "les bons Américains." These good Americans were those truest to a Gallic idea of what the United States should be, and in recent years those at the furthest remove from the aberrant folk who elected George W. Bush."
So, the French also wanted Gore and Kerry. Not sure this helps him.
Obama says no mental health late-term abortions
So, instead of having any abortion at any time for any reason -- Obama's previous position -- he has in fact clarified today that there are some abortions he can't stomach. These would include where the child, who is viable outside the womb, has a knife stabbed into the back of her skull and her brains sucked out (without anethesia of course, because she is not a "real" person, only tissue), because the mother was feeling overwhelmed by the situation. How liberal of Obama to spare the life of 0.01% of children scheduled to be aborted.
Yet Obama maintains that he opposes giving treatment to those children who are born alive following a botched abortion. From the press today:
-- In the interview with Relevant, conducted on Tuesday, Obama also defended his opposition to restrictions on induced abortions where the fetus sometimes survives for short periods. Obama voted against such a bill when he was in the Illinois Senate. He has said he supported a federal version of the law that contained more specific language because he feared the Illinois proposal would have applied to all abortions.
"There was a bill that came up in Illinois that was called the 'Born Alive' bill that purported to require life-saving treatment to such infants. And I did vote against that bill," Obama said Tuesday. "The reason was that there was already a law in place in Illinois that said that you always have to supply life-saving treatment to any infant under any circumstances, and this bill actually was designed to overturn Roe v. Wade, so I didn't think it was going to pass constitutional muster."
Legal abortion has no place inside the truly liberal heart, which finds room for both the mother and the child.
Yet Obama maintains that he opposes giving treatment to those children who are born alive following a botched abortion. From the press today:
-- In the interview with Relevant, conducted on Tuesday, Obama also defended his opposition to restrictions on induced abortions where the fetus sometimes survives for short periods. Obama voted against such a bill when he was in the Illinois Senate. He has said he supported a federal version of the law that contained more specific language because he feared the Illinois proposal would have applied to all abortions.
"There was a bill that came up in Illinois that was called the 'Born Alive' bill that purported to require life-saving treatment to such infants. And I did vote against that bill," Obama said Tuesday. "The reason was that there was already a law in place in Illinois that said that you always have to supply life-saving treatment to any infant under any circumstances, and this bill actually was designed to overturn Roe v. Wade, so I didn't think it was going to pass constitutional muster."
Legal abortion has no place inside the truly liberal heart, which finds room for both the mother and the child.
Obama leads in... Montana!
Dubya won conservative Montana by 20 points in the last election, and McCain is losing it by 5 right now. I'd earlier said McCain would get 5 states. I'm starting to reconsider. Will be McCain be the Republicans' Mondale, and only win his home state?
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