America's Disease is Greed

he most serious spiritual problem in the country today is reckless and untrammeled greed. Greed caused the disgraceful corporate scandals that fill our newspapers. Greed is responsible for crooked cops and crooked politicians. Greed causes the constant efforts to destroy unions that protect basic worker rights.

Greed has produced rash tax cuts that have given money to the rich and in effect taken it away from the poor. Greed has led to the immigration policy in which hundreds of poor men and women die every year as they struggle across the desert for the jobs that el norte promises them. Greed accounts for the efforts to take profitability out of the pensions and health insurance of working men and women. Greed is responsible for the fact that so many Americans have no health insurance and the fact that the recent reform of Medicare was a fraud. Greed causes newspapers to overestimate their circulation.

Greed is responsible for the obscene salaries of CEOs. In the '90s the ratio of CEO compensation to average workers' compensation was 250 to 1, meaning that the boss earned on his first day of work during a year as much as the worker did in a whole year. In European countries the ratio is closer to 100 to 1. Recent estimates put the current ratio at 500 to 1 -- the boss makes as much before lunch as the worker does all year. Greed is the cause of the high wages paid to the bosses even if the company is failing.

Greed is responsible for the endless stress and ruthless competition of the workplace and the strains and tensions of professional class marriages. Greed (in this instance another name for relentless ambition) explains much of the cheating on college campuses. Greed is responsible for outsourcing, which is incapable of comprehending that the employees who lose their jobs are also the consumers who sustain the economy. Greed generates the reckless ventures that in part caused the bubble of the late '90s. Greed causes expensive wars that shatter the budget. Greed is the reason that only the wealthy are benefitting so far from the economic upturn that is allegedly happening. Greed drives loan sharks. Greed is responsible for the success of big box stores that tax the poor with low wages to provide bargains for affluent suburban shoppers. Greed is the reason poor white Appalachians, poor African Americans and poor Native Americans must fight the wars that the wealthy start. Jessica Lynch joined the Army so she could go to college. Her Native American roommate, killed in action, joined so, single mother that she was, she could support her children. Greed is the reason why the country is being run by those whom the president has described, however inelegantly, as the ''haves and the have mores.''

No one said during the bizarre deification of President Reagan that he taught us that greed is good and that we should feel good about our greedy country. Greed is the reason that the country is being run by the insurance, pharmaceutical, weapons and petroleum industries. Greed causes worldwide sex slavery of women and children.

Greed drives the murders of the narcotics world. Greed is responsible for the exploitations of teen sports stars by colleges and for the mess in the pro sports world. It is also the cause of the use of performance drugs by young athletes. Greed is responsible for the bad advice lawyers gave the Church years ago to beat victims of sexual abuse into the ground. It is behind the scam artists who steal from the elderly.

Greed may have been a more serious problem for Americans, say, in the era of the robber barons. But the Garys and the Morgans and the Carnegies were a small bunch of men. Now their greed has seeped down to a much larger segment of the population.

The Catholic Church speaks of four sins that cry to heaven for vengeance. Two are cheating workers out of wages and exploiting widows and children. Both happen every day in our greedy country.

Ambition is not evil within limits. The struggle for success is not bad within limits. Hard work and fair rewards are good within limits. It is not good to take from the poor and give to the rich, and that's exactly what this country is doing today.

Don't let anyone tell you that lust is the most deadly of the deadly sins.

REVENGE

Revenge is profitable.
Author: Edward Gibbon
Source: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (ch. XI)



Revenge, at first though sweet, Bitter ere long back on itself recoils.
Author: John Milton
Source: Paradise Lost (bk. IX, l. 171)


Those who plot the destruction of others often fall themselves. [Lat., Saepe intereunt aliis meditantes necem.]
Author: Phaedrus (Thrace of Macedonia)
Source: Fables--Appendix (VI, 11)

And where the offense is, let the great axe fall.
Author: William Shakespeare
Source: Hamlet Prince of Denmark (King at IV, v)



JEALOUSY


Jealousy is an emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, such as a relationship, friendship, or love. Jealousy often consists of a combination of emotions such as anger, sadness, and disgust.

Jealousy is a familiar experience in human relationships. It has been observed in infants five months old and older.[1][2][3][4] Some claim that jealousy is seen in every culture;[5][6][7] however, others claim jealousy is a culture-specific phenomenon.[8]

Jealousy as an emotion or the impact of jealousy has been a theme of many novels, songs, poems, films and other artistic works. It has also been a topic of interest for scientists, artists, and theologians. Psychologists have proposed several models of the processes underlying jealousy and have identified factors that result in jealousy. Sociologists have demonstrated that cultural beliefs and values play an important role in determining what triggers jealousy and what constitutes socially acceptable expressions of jealousy. Biologists have identified factors that may unconsciously influence the expression of jealousy. Artists have explored the theme of jealousy in photographs, paintings, movies, songs, plays, poems, and books. Theologians have offered religious views of jealousy based on the scriptures of their respective faiths.

Here I have jumped on the Eunuch Spectator for speaking out against Ross and A.J. without identifying himself and now someone is anonymously speaking out about R.D.. So even though you may be right on target, you should state your name.

Whew!..R.L.

All I did was post word to think about. Not to say words about anyone

What made you copy and post these words, at this time, with no narrative from you? Why pick these words at this time? Aren't there other words out there that also bear mentioning? There must be some correlation that you feel these words have to one or more of us discussing Hackensack. Give us a hint to where the reading of these words should lead us. It seems like the definitions are a little too wordy and fit no one. It just leaves me confused

is who I would guess they belong to. lol Let's hear some more of your self righteous crap Dave. I suppose when you started carving and opened a shop in someone elses area and took revenue from them that was ok. I suppose since you been a carver for a short time it makes you an authority when it comes to what is right and wrong for the carving world as you know it. Get a life amigo and butt out, and take your self glorified opinions with ya Dave,lol

You need to have that hole in your groin sewn up as your brains are pouring out. You are so confused that you want me to give you more crap and butt out at the same time. Any human being with a brain understands right from wrong, but that leaves you out and why you have difficulty with the concept.
For your edification I started carving in a town without another carver, but in a tourist area with seasonal, transient carvers from many states who are all in a thirty mile radius. One of the closest long term carvers is Erv Doan who set me up with one of his customers to do on site carving and mantels that Erv did not do. I have been a chisel and small power tool carver for 48 years and a chainsaw carver for only 7 years, but even a new carver is entitled to his opinion on this forum. It is strange that your anonymous opinions that don't qualify you as even a carver are more important than mine and you wish to tell me not to express yourself. For all we know you don't even carve.
I will try to follow the advice of my good friends to ignore answering anonymous comments by gutless people without cahoonas enough to stand behind their words.
You know what is kind of neat about you is that you can't even tell your family or friends about what you are doing because they will see how spineless you are. What do you see when you look in the mirror?
By the way Mr smart guy it's kahunas not cahoonas. I didn't want to change it because you would not have recognized it.

It would actually be Cojones..

mmmmm good coffee........carry on

under your skin aye Dave? You have a temper , don't you,lol Well, that's ok, I guess you can see how it feels to be accused of something you may or may not be guilty of. Dave you don't have to justify your being as a carver to me, it's a free world. Nor does any one have to explain their business ethics to you. You are good at bad mouthing others but can't take a little criticism from others. Let me say, I will continue to post as I have regardless of your need to know who I am. Eats ya up don't it? lol Oh well, guess that comes with the territory. You are quite the man there Mr.Dave. Standing up for your friends that have lied, made false statement and tried to drag others through the dirt. Your just a stand up guy,lol Have a nice night, and please don't lose any sleep over anything I have said.lol

nothing to do with the carvers it has to do with people in general. People that can hurt other people with words.



Life can be a bitch and then they turn on you

People like to hurt people all the time. I am one of them. You think you know them and all of sudden they turn on you like a snake.

Snake" is a verb meaning to take another's wave against his will. When you get snaked, it means that either someone took off in front of you, thus ruining your ride, or someone turned around inside of you and called you off the wave. Either way, getting snaked sucks! It is a cut in the very fabric of what surfers hold as true. Don't snake your fellow surfer!

revenge hating person. find love in your soul and life. forget me and find someone else to **** with

Anonymous,
What an intense and truthful assessment of our way of life!I really do not believe that greed was more prevalent in years gone by, but that the extreme excesses were more easily distinguished.A question for you: can you give me more of a laymans breakdown on bizzare deification? Thanks for the intentional grounding,I'll go with the assumption it was for the benefit of all of us and not just aimed at a specific person.-ken

Anne ,if you catch this post,would you please email me,I have a question on network 54,and when I called Milt the other day he could not give me an answer.Maybe you might be able to help me,-ken

Anne, I guess it would help to give you an email address: kentrapp@charter.net

I have nothing to do with Chainsawsculptors.com any more. I also have nothing to do with network 54.

I had to walk away before I was going to do or say something that would hurt to many people that I care about. The Wisconsin office is now closed.



Milt is now out of retirement and is running the whole site by self and his girlfriends in Michigan.

I have now heard a different a different version to your background Dave. I really don't know who or what to believe now. It seems your version doesn't line up with the other version. Geez I guess I will just start another version and someone will believe what I have said. I really don't understand you need to continue trashing Coonrod when you should be trashing your so called friends. After all, they have fabricated, solicited and posted lies about Mr.Coonrod. I have to agree with Mr,Anonymous on most of his postings. He has taken the time to research and give an accurate analogy of many things happening in these posts. So since I think he is telling me the truth, I can only come to a decission that your version of your beginning as a carver, if you want to call yourself one , is that you have created your own little world and are not telling the truth or should I say left parts out to make yourself look better. I would say you have many skeletons in your closet. Please be truthful in the future Dave, I have lost respect for you now and don't know if I will ever get it back,lol Knock! Knock! who's there? It's Dave man I lost my keys, No Dave's not here! No man I'm Dave!, No I told you man Dave's not here! No man it's me Dave! Comeon open the door I need to get in! No, Dave's not here, I guess you get the analogy.

You all are a bunch of whining babies full of negativity!!! THe carving world is falling appart at the seams. Good job dismantling it every one!