Quote of the Day

Happy Labor Day

Quote of the day

"We must do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living.

It is a fact today that one in ten thousand of us can make a technological breakthrough capable of supporting all the rest. The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian-Darwinian theory, he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living." -Buckminster Fuller, 1895-1983. American systems theorist, architect, engineer, author, designer, inventor, and futurist.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller

One more stereotype, shot to heck

Here's your "lazy Mexicans", according to reasearch from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the OECD):

Quoting: "Mexicans...top international studies by working nearly 10 hours a day on the job and in the home."

So much for that stereotype, huh?

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/who-knew/work-hours-which-nation-spends-the-least-amount-of-time-on-the-job-29600877.html#crsl=%252Fwho-knew%252Fwork-hours-which-nation-spends-the-least-amount-of-time-on-the-job-29600877.html

The incredibly badly named "Right to Work" laws

Let's get something clear today. The "right to work" is a good thing. The right to work as Wikipedia so eloquenty writes "is the concept that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and may not be prevented from doing so. The right to work is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law through its inclusion in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, where the right to work emphasizes economic, social and cultural development."

But what the "right to work" is not, it is not even remotely even like the "Right to Work Law" or any Right to Work Law. It is a misnomer--it is badly, even deceptively, named. The "Right to Work Law", as was signed into law yesterday in Indiana, unfortunately is "a statute that prohibits agreements between labor unions and employers that make membership, payment of union dues, or fees a condition of employment, either before or after hiring." See that? Did you read that? The "Right to Work Laws" are laws that take power AWAY from you and I. Don't be confused, folks. I think the average person on the street figures the "Right to Work Law" sounds like a good--maybe even great--thing that we need to support. It is anything but. It is from and by and for the corporations and owners and wealthy to keep you and me from organizing and from having any power in the workplace. It's not good. Far from it. So don't be confused, folks. Don't let the language or title confuse you. The "right to work" is a good thing, sure. A "Right to Work Law" stinks. It's lousy. I don't think most Americans know the distinction. Let's get this word out and keep things clear. Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_work; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law; http://www.indystar.com/article/20120201/NEWS05/120201020/Indiana-Gov-Daniels-signs-right-to-work-bill-protest-winds-through-Super-Bowl-Village-?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CNEWS

Gandhi's 7 Dangers to Human Virtue

1. Wealth without work; 2. Pleasure without conscience; 3. Knowledge without character; 4. Business without ethics; 5. Science without humanity; 6. Religion without sacrifice; 7. Politics without principle. (With thanks to long-time friend Dennis S. for this).

Kansas City in top 10 for jobs

One reason, at least, to be glad you're here and not in Los Angeles or most anywhere in Florida, palm trees or no:

Monster.com: Kansas City ranks among hottest U.S. job markets

Kansas City Business Journal
Date: Friday, January 21, 2011, 8:15am CST.

Job-matching website Monster.com ranks Kansas City among the 10 hottest markets for job seekers in 2011.

Kansas City was No. 10 on the Monster.com list, which was led by a top three of Washington, San Francisco and Boston. The rankings are based on the relative abundance of job openings for each city’s local work force, or available jobs per job seeker, the company said in a release.

It may not feel like it, but we're "kicking butt and taking names", employment-wise, at least compared to much of the rest of the country.

Have a great weekend, y'all.
Link to original post:  http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2011/01/21/monstercom-kansas-city-ranks-among.html
Other, associated links:  http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2011/01/27/abaxis-will-set-up-testing-lab-for.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2011/01/05/exergonix-picks-lees-summit-for-90m.html

Quote of the day--on life and living

"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."  --Albert Einstein

All of a sudden

I'm just beginning to watch the new President of the United States give his first address toCongress and I'm struck already.

President Obama just gets to the podium and I was hit by the female Speaker of the House welcoming the African-American President for his speech.

Holy cow.

If you don't think we've come a long way and that this isn't a completely new country, with these changes, you're badly mistaken.

Wow.

Truly a new day.