Fwd: phwaw, man!

[Forrest Gunter]

  And for the dry heaves course, why don't one of you industrious soles do 
such a listing for The Great State of Texas.  I'all will prime the pump with 
this: Texas is alleged to lead the nation in per capita on-the-job worker 
deaths.  Maybe there should be an asterisk by that listing though, as a lot 
of those are just wetbacks. (See Mark Twain on the steamboat boiler 
explosion.)
                                        Catbert the Risk Manager

>From: Harry Edwards <laughingwolf at ev1.net>
>Reply-To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s 
><austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
>To: ghetto survivors <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
>Subject: Fwd: phwaw, man!
>Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 21:30:34 -0600
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>Begin forwarded message:
>
>>From: Harry Edwards <laughingwolf at ev1.net>
>>Date: January 20, 2005 6:57:26 PM CST
>>To: ghetto 2 <ghetto2 at lists.whathelps.com>
>>Subject: phwaw, man!
>>
>>I'm not a Michael Ventura fan, but once in awhile I can't ignore one of 
>>his columns in the Austin Chronicle. Below is the current one. Read it and 
>>puke!         twisty
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Letters at 3AM
>>
>>No. 1?
>>
>>BY MICHAEL VENTURA
>>
>>  No concept lies more firmly embedded in our national character than the 
>>notion that the USA is "No. 1," "the greatest." Our broadcast media are, 
>>in essence, continuous advertisements for the brand name "America Is No. 
>>1." Any office seeker saying otherwise would be committing political 
>>suicide. In fact, anyone saying otherwise will be labeled "un-American." 
>>We're an "empire," ain't we? Sure we are. An empire without a 
>>manufacturing base. An empire that must borrow $2 billion a day from its 
>>competitors in order to function. Yet the delusion is ineradicable. We're 
>>No. 1. Well ... this is the country you really live in:
>>
>>  • The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (The New York 
>>Times, Dec. 12, 2004).
>>
>>  • The United States ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical 
>>literacy (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
>>
>>  • One-third of our science teachers and one-half of our math teachers 
>>did not major in those subjects. (Quoted on The West Wing, but you can 
>>trust it – their researchers are legendary.)
>>
>>  • Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the Earth. Seventeen 
>>percent believe the Earth revolves around the sun once a day (The Week, 
>>Jan. 7, 2005).
>>
>>  • "The International Adult Literacy Survey ... found that Americans with 
>>less than nine years of education 'score worse than virtually all of the 
>>other countries'" (Jeremy Rifkin's superbly documented book The European 
>>Dream
>>: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American 
>>Dream, p.78).
>>
>>  • Our workers are so ignorant, and lack so many basic skills, that 
>>American businesses spend $30 billion a year on remedial training (NYT, 
>>Dec. 12, 2004). No wonder they relocate elsewhere!
>>
>>  • "The European Union leads the U.S. in ... the number of science and 
>>engineering graduates; public research and development (R&D) expenditures; 
>>and new capital raised" (The European Dream, p.70).
>>
>>  • "Europe surpassed the United States in the mid-1990s as the largest 
>>producer of scientific literature" (The European Dream, p.70).
>>
>>  • Nevertheless, Congress cut funds to the National Science Foundation. 
>>The agency will issue 1,000 fewer research grants this year (NYT, Dec. 21, 
>>2004).
>>
>>  • Foreign applications to U.S. grad schools declined 28% last year. 
>>Foreign student enrollment on all levels fell for the first time in three 
>>decades, but increased greatly in Europe and China. Last year Chinese 
>>grad-school graduates in the U.S. dropped 56%, Indians 51%, South Koreans 
>>28% (NYT, Dec. 21, 2004). We're not the place to be anymore.
>>
>>  • The World Health Organization "ranked the countries of the world in 
>>terms of overall health performance, and the U.S. [was] ... 37th." In the 
>>fairness of health care, we're 54th. "The irony is that the United States 
>>spends more per capita for health care than any other nation in the world" 
>>(The European Dream, pp.79-80). Pay more, get lots, lots less.
>>
>>  • "The U.S. and South Africa are the only two developed countries in the 
>>world that do not provide health care for all their citizens" (The 
>>European Dream, p.80). Excuse me, but since when is South Africa a 
>>"developed" country? Anyway, that's the company we're keeping.
>>
>>  • Lack of health insurance coverage causes 18,000 unnecessary American 
>>deaths a year. (That's six times the number of people killed on 9/11.) 
>>(NYT, Jan. 12, 2005.)
>>
>>  • "U.S. childhood poverty now ranks 22nd, or second to last, among the 
>>developed nations. Only Mexico scores lower" (The European Dream, p.81). 
>>Been to Mexico lately? Does it look "developed" to you? Yet it's the only 
>>"developed" country to score lower in childhood poverty.
>>
>>  • Twelve million American families – more than 10% of all U.S. 
>>households – "continue to struggle, and not always successfully, to feed 
>>themselves." Families that "had members who actually went hungry at some 
>>point last year" numbered 3.9 million (NYT, Nov. 22, 2004).
>>
>>  • The United States is 41st in the world in infant mortality. Cuba 
>>scores higher (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
>>
>>  • Women are 70% more likely to die in childbirth in America than in 
>>Europe (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
>>
>>  • The leading cause of death of pregnant women in this country is murder 
>>(CNN, Dec. 14, 2004).
>>
>>  • "Of the 20 most developed countries in the world, the U.S. was dead 
>>last in the growth rate of total compensation to its work-force in the 
>>1980s. ... In the 1990s, the U.S. average compensation growth rate grew 
>>only slightly, at an annual rate of about 0.1%" (The European Dream, 
>>p.39). Yet Americans work longer hours per year than any other 
>>industrialized country, and get less vacation time.
>>
>>  • "Sixty-one of the 140 biggest companies on the Global Fortune 500 
>>rankings are European, while only 50 are U.S. companies" (The European 
>>Dream, p.66). "In a recent survey of the world's 50 best companies, 
>>conducted by Global Finance, all but one was European" (The European 
>>Dream, p.69).
>>
>>  • "Fourteen of the 20 largest commercial banks in the world today are 
>>European. ... In the chemical industry, the European company BASF is the 
>>world's leader, and three of the top six players are European. In 
>>engineering and construction, three of the top five companies are 
>>European. ... The two others are Japanese. Not a single American 
>>engineering and construction company is included among the world's top 
>>nine competitors. In food and consumer products, Nestlé and Unilever, two 
>>European giants, rank first and second, respectively, in the world. In the 
>>food and drugstore retail trade, two European companies ... are first and 
>>second, and European companies make up five of the top 10. Only four U.S. 
>>companies are on the list" (The European Dream, p.68).
>>
>>  • The United States has lost 1.3 million jobs to China in the last 
>>decade (CNN, Jan. 12, 2005).
>>
>>  • U.S. employers eliminated 1 million jobs in 2004 (The Week, Jan. 14, 
>>2005).
>>
>>  • Three million six hundred thousand Americans ran out of unemployment 
>>insurance last year; 1.8 million – one in five – unemployed workers are 
>>jobless for more than six months (NYT, Jan. 9, 2005).
>>
>>  • Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea hold 40% of our government debt. 
>>(That's why we talk nice to them.) "By helping keep mortgage rates from 
>>rising, China has come to play an enormous and little-noticed role in 
>>sustaining the American housing boom" (NYT, Dec. 4, 2004). Read that 
>>twice. We owe our housing boom to China, because they want us to keep 
>>buying all that stuff they manufacture.
>>
>>  • Sometime in the next 10 years Brazil will probably pass the U.S. as 
>>the world's largest agricultural producer. Brazil is now the world's 
>>largest exporter of chickens, orange juice, sugar, coffee, and tobacco. 
>>Last year, Brazil passed the U.S. as the world's largest beef producer. 
>>(Hear that, you poor deluded cowboys?) As a result, while we bear record 
>>trade deficits, Brazil boasts a $30 billion trade surplus (NYT, Dec. 12, 
>>2004).
>>
>>  • As of last June, the U.S. imported more food than it exported (NYT, 
>>Dec. 12, 2004).
>>
>>  • Bush: 62,027,582 votes. Kerry: 59,026,003 votes. Number of eligible 
>>voters who didn't show up: 79,279,000 (NYT, Dec. 26, 2004). That's more 
>>than a third. Way more. If more than a third of Iraqis don't show for 
>>their election, no country in the world will think that election 
>>legitimate.
>>
>>  • One-third of all U.S. children are born out of wedlock. One-half of 
>>all U.S. children will live in a one-parent house (CNN, Dec. 10, 2004).
>>
>>  • "Americans are now spending more money on gambling than on movies, 
>>videos, DVDs, music, and books combined" (The European Dream, p.28).
>>
>>  • "Nearly one out of four Americans [believe] that using violence to get 
>>what they want is acceptable" (The European Dream, p.32).
>>
>>  • Forty-three percent of Americans think torture is sometimes justified, 
>>according to a PEW Poll (Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2004).
>>
>>  • "Nearly 900,000 children were abused or neglected in 2002, the last 
>>year for which such data are available" (USA Today, Dec. 21, 2004).
>>
>>  • "The International Association of Chiefs of Police said that cuts by 
>>the [Bush] administration in federal aid to local police agencies have 
>>left the nation more vulnerable than ever" (USA Today, Nov. 17, 2004).
>>
>>  No. 1? In most important categories we're not even in the Top 10 
>>anymore. Not even close.
>>
>>  The USA is "No. 1" in nothing but weaponry, consumer spending, debt, and 
>>delusion.
>