The news are in real time with no time for reflection, and statistical opinion polls are the guiding principles for redirecting every day our vision for a better world. And as we watch CNN and our reality changes every minute of the day so our talking heads and decision makers use a contradictory vocabulary of certainty such as predicting the future or supporting others people's opinions with such adverbs as 'exactly' or 'absolutely.' This is in a nutshell the NeoClassical Mentality: decisive decisions based on statistical opinion polls, no reflection, absolute predictions within plus or minus .99% to 5% margin of errors, and copycatting. And I was forgetting the concept of 'secrecy' as it pertains to waging wars or to hiring criminals and unsavory informants by the police or to intellectual secrets and abusive copyrights.

Anyhow, lets go on and find out examples of our NeoClassical behaviour. President Bush has the highest popularity rate of any president at any time and therefore he is directing lawmakers to "get to work and get something done" for his economic stimulus package for the benefit of the rich and corporations and have it on his "desk before the end of the month." And White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer echoes President Bush direction to have the stimulus package passed at once by saying "it is imperative for the Senate to act... Failure to act will mean our workers are being left behind." And I say how tax cuts for the rich can increase consumer spending and change economic lifestyle for the better, and how corporations can invest their tax cuts at a time of recession when they lay off people in record numbers. Is this the way the country is united in helping people in trouble and out of work?

The House rejected the federalization of aviation baggage screeners and I heard that the republicans didn't want to have additional governmental bureaucrats who would vote against them. I also heard republican Rep. John Mica saying that he wants to have privatized baggage screeners so that the security of passengers can be assured by the flexibility of having screeners fired for poor performance. President Bush has stated "I want every mom and dad who gets on an airplane to feel safe," and republican Rep. J.C. Watts echoed the president saying that he disagreed with the federalization of baggage screeners and that there was the need of a new security package for the traveling moms and their babies he sees at the airports on a weekly basis. And I say how can we have security at airports or anywhere else when we have a violent and divided society as evidenced by the extremely high US incarceration rate?

I shake my head thinking about the failures of the NeoClassical mentality (Free Trade), the way we fight international terrorism by waging a war with a coalition of armed forces, and the way we ensure our personal security at home by putting people in jail with a coalition of policing legislation and policing forces.

Some references

Current political events and pertinent articles published in Ensign

Bush Demands Stimulus Package by End of Month, by Dana Milbank, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 31, 2001 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17724-2001Oct31.html

House passes air security bill. But GOP-backed legislation will not federalize screeners, MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS, November 1, 2001 http://www.msnbc.com/news/631075.asp

A Violent World and Today's Capitalism: US Airport Security, Social Inequalities and Shared Capitalism, by Mario deSantis, October 20, 2001 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/2001_400/desantis460/sharedcapitalism.html