Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed 'Easy Eddie.' He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but also, Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.
Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.
Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.
He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al; 'Scarface' Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity.
To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street
But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.
The poem read:
'The clock of life is wound but once,
and no man has the power
to tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.
Now is the only time you own.
Live, love, toil with a will.
Place no faith in time.
For the clock may soon be still.'
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.
He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission.
After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.
He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.
His flight leader told him to return to the carrier.
Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the carrier, he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless.
He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet.
Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger.
There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes.
Wing-mounted 50 caliber guns blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another.
Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault.
He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.
Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return.
The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale.
It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet.
He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of WWII, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.
A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29.
His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
So, how are these two stories related, other than their obvious Chicago connection? Butch O'Hare was the son of Edward O'Hare, who was also known as 'Easy Eddie'.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
By Definition: A Capitalist Democracy
I was recently asked by a long-time friend to clarify what I understand to be each of these three things: capitalism, communism, and socialism. Let's go to wikipedia, like any lazy capitalist would:
Capitalism: Capitalism is an economic system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned and controlled rather than state owned and controlled. Through capitalism, the land, labor, and capital are owned, operated, and traded by private individuals either singly or jointly, and investments, distribution, income, production, pricing and supply of goods, commodities and services are determined by voluntary private decision in a market economy. A distinguishing feature of capitalism is that each person owns his or her own labor and therefore is allowed to sell the use of it to employers. In a "capitalist state", private rights and property relations are protected by the rule of law of a limited regulatory framework. In the modern capitalist state, legislative action is confined to defining and enforcing the basic rules of the market, though the state may provide some public goods and infrastructure.
Communism: Communism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human society, which would be achieved through a proletarian revolution. "Pure communism" in the Marxian sense refers to a classless, stateless and oppression-free society where decisions on what to produce and what policies to pursue are made democratically, allowing every member of society to participate in the decision-making process in both the political and economic spheres of life. As a political ideology, communism is usually considered to be a branch of socialism; a broad group of economic and political philosophies that draw on the various political and intellectual movements with origins in the work of theorists of the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution. Communism attempts to offer an alternative to the problems with the capitalist market economy and the legacy of imperialism and nationalism. Marx states that the only way to solve these problems is for the working class (proletariat), who according to Marx are the main producers of wealth in society and are exploited by the Capitalist-class (bourgeoisie), to replace the bourgeoisie as the ruling class in order to establish a free society, without class or racial divisions.
Socialism: Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating public or state ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterized by equality for all individuals, with a fair or egalitarian method of compensation. Modern socialism originated in the late 19th-century intellectual and working class political movement that criticized the effects of industrialization and private ownership on society. Karl Marx posited that socialism (the disappearance of class and therefore state) would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution after a long transitional stage from capitalism called the Dictatorship of the proletariat. Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital, creates an unequal society, and does not provide equal opportunities for everyone in society. Therefore socialists advocate the creation of a society in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly based on the amount of work expended in production, although there is considerable disagreement among socialists over how, and to what extent this could be achieved.
By these definitions, I am a capitalist who believes that the capitalist system is by far the very best system of these three. I believe that my country, the United States of America was founded to be a capitalist state, and while not a pure capitalist state, even on day one, was designed to follow the capitalist model as closely as possible. What has occurred since then is that our politicians, especially the more liberal-leaning ones, have continually been moving this country further and further away from capitalism, closer to communism and/or socialism. I am very much against communism and socialism as I feel that your reward should be relative to your efforts. Those who work harder and take risks should earn more. The government has a role to referee the game, but should not have the right to take away points from the winning team and give them to the losing team just so that things are fair. Hard working capitalists should not be taxed just so that their money can go to sustain the lives and livelihood of those who do not want to work. Plain and simple. As a state, we should care for those who are truly unable to provide for themselves, but we should not allow those who are able to work to simply sit back and do nothing yet receive government provided shelter and food.
I do realize that capitalism does allow for tiers to be created in our society, yet I believe that a true form of capitalism where people are not barred from rising up through those tiers based on race, religion, politcal affiliation, etc. is possible, though I am also aware that my country has not adhered to that idea in the past. I do also believe, however, that we are working towards an America that is more equal in this regards. In a capitalist societly, like ours, some will have more than others, but in most cases, what you have is a result of the hard work and dedication of yourself, those around you, and in some cases, those who came before you. In a communist or socialist society, no matter how hard you work, no matter what you do, you can never rise above your current cirumstances. In a capitalist society, anyone can achieve anything. I think one of these paths is far better than the other.
If you look at the socialist and communist governments that have plagued the Earth, you will also find a very flawed and inaccurate deployment of the ideals of those systems. While everyone is supposed to be equal in those systems, you will find, in fact, a group of core leadership at the center of those governments, who were, somehow, mysteriously much more wealthy and well-off than their equals who were the back-breaking laborers of the government-led businesses of the state. A small powerful, wealthy group at the top with a large labor force supporting them? Sounds like a twisted version of capitalism to me.
I believe in democracy and I believe in capitalism. I believe that a capitalist state cannot exist without government, but that government should serve the capitalist state, not the other way around, which is where America is heading. I believe in a pure democracy. Literally, one vote for each person and the side with the most votes wins. No court oversight, no electoral college. We have the technology and ability to have a pure democracy here in America and I think that it is time. Any and all social and economic issues should be decided by ballot, not by courts, and not by government, but by the people of the capitalist democracy.
Capitalism: Capitalism is an economic system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned and controlled rather than state owned and controlled. Through capitalism, the land, labor, and capital are owned, operated, and traded by private individuals either singly or jointly, and investments, distribution, income, production, pricing and supply of goods, commodities and services are determined by voluntary private decision in a market economy. A distinguishing feature of capitalism is that each person owns his or her own labor and therefore is allowed to sell the use of it to employers. In a "capitalist state", private rights and property relations are protected by the rule of law of a limited regulatory framework. In the modern capitalist state, legislative action is confined to defining and enforcing the basic rules of the market, though the state may provide some public goods and infrastructure.
Communism: Communism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human society, which would be achieved through a proletarian revolution. "Pure communism" in the Marxian sense refers to a classless, stateless and oppression-free society where decisions on what to produce and what policies to pursue are made democratically, allowing every member of society to participate in the decision-making process in both the political and economic spheres of life. As a political ideology, communism is usually considered to be a branch of socialism; a broad group of economic and political philosophies that draw on the various political and intellectual movements with origins in the work of theorists of the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution. Communism attempts to offer an alternative to the problems with the capitalist market economy and the legacy of imperialism and nationalism. Marx states that the only way to solve these problems is for the working class (proletariat), who according to Marx are the main producers of wealth in society and are exploited by the Capitalist-class (bourgeoisie), to replace the bourgeoisie as the ruling class in order to establish a free society, without class or racial divisions.
Socialism: Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating public or state ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterized by equality for all individuals, with a fair or egalitarian method of compensation. Modern socialism originated in the late 19th-century intellectual and working class political movement that criticized the effects of industrialization and private ownership on society. Karl Marx posited that socialism (the disappearance of class and therefore state) would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution after a long transitional stage from capitalism called the Dictatorship of the proletariat. Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital, creates an unequal society, and does not provide equal opportunities for everyone in society. Therefore socialists advocate the creation of a society in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly based on the amount of work expended in production, although there is considerable disagreement among socialists over how, and to what extent this could be achieved.
By these definitions, I am a capitalist who believes that the capitalist system is by far the very best system of these three. I believe that my country, the United States of America was founded to be a capitalist state, and while not a pure capitalist state, even on day one, was designed to follow the capitalist model as closely as possible. What has occurred since then is that our politicians, especially the more liberal-leaning ones, have continually been moving this country further and further away from capitalism, closer to communism and/or socialism. I am very much against communism and socialism as I feel that your reward should be relative to your efforts. Those who work harder and take risks should earn more. The government has a role to referee the game, but should not have the right to take away points from the winning team and give them to the losing team just so that things are fair. Hard working capitalists should not be taxed just so that their money can go to sustain the lives and livelihood of those who do not want to work. Plain and simple. As a state, we should care for those who are truly unable to provide for themselves, but we should not allow those who are able to work to simply sit back and do nothing yet receive government provided shelter and food.
I do realize that capitalism does allow for tiers to be created in our society, yet I believe that a true form of capitalism where people are not barred from rising up through those tiers based on race, religion, politcal affiliation, etc. is possible, though I am also aware that my country has not adhered to that idea in the past. I do also believe, however, that we are working towards an America that is more equal in this regards. In a capitalist societly, like ours, some will have more than others, but in most cases, what you have is a result of the hard work and dedication of yourself, those around you, and in some cases, those who came before you. In a communist or socialist society, no matter how hard you work, no matter what you do, you can never rise above your current cirumstances. In a capitalist society, anyone can achieve anything. I think one of these paths is far better than the other.
If you look at the socialist and communist governments that have plagued the Earth, you will also find a very flawed and inaccurate deployment of the ideals of those systems. While everyone is supposed to be equal in those systems, you will find, in fact, a group of core leadership at the center of those governments, who were, somehow, mysteriously much more wealthy and well-off than their equals who were the back-breaking laborers of the government-led businesses of the state. A small powerful, wealthy group at the top with a large labor force supporting them? Sounds like a twisted version of capitalism to me.
I believe in democracy and I believe in capitalism. I believe that a capitalist state cannot exist without government, but that government should serve the capitalist state, not the other way around, which is where America is heading. I believe in a pure democracy. Literally, one vote for each person and the side with the most votes wins. No court oversight, no electoral college. We have the technology and ability to have a pure democracy here in America and I think that it is time. Any and all social and economic issues should be decided by ballot, not by courts, and not by government, but by the people of the capitalist democracy.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Destined To Take Over From Their Very Beginning
Do you know where the term "robot" comes from? A play written in 1921 by Czech writer Karel Cepek, "Rossum's Universal Robots".
Guess what the plot of that play is? Mechanical, highly, intelligent slaves called "robots" mount a revolt and "kill all the humans", except for one.
Today, author P.W. Singer, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, has written a book called "Wired For War" in which he takes a serious look at today's military robots and reports that over 40 countries are currently working on some type of advanced military robot.
With each passing year, these military robots are being built to be stronger. The most frightening thing is that the ultimate end goal for most of these robotics projects is to develop a robot that is more autonomous, able to make decisions on its own based on prior-programmed commands.
In his book, Singer quotes Vernon Vinge, mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction writer, as predicting more than 15 years ago: "Within the next 30 years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly thereafter, the human era will be ended."
Guess what the plot of that play is? Mechanical, highly, intelligent slaves called "robots" mount a revolt and "kill all the humans", except for one.
Today, author P.W. Singer, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, has written a book called "Wired For War" in which he takes a serious look at today's military robots and reports that over 40 countries are currently working on some type of advanced military robot.
With each passing year, these military robots are being built to be stronger. The most frightening thing is that the ultimate end goal for most of these robotics projects is to develop a robot that is more autonomous, able to make decisions on its own based on prior-programmed commands.
In his book, Singer quotes Vernon Vinge, mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction writer, as predicting more than 15 years ago: "Within the next 30 years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly thereafter, the human era will be ended."
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