What with the government deficit projected to rise to 72.5% of GDP this year (up from 40% four years ago), all the talk about the evils of ownership, the bleakness of the prospects for trying to change the system when "they" are in charge, you'd think things would look pretty grim.
The truth of the matter is, yes, if you continue to operate within the current paradigm, things are not only "pretty grim," they are utterly hopeless. That's "within the current paradigm," however. Once you step out of the current paradigm, with its disproved assumptions and degradation of human dignity, it's remarkable how much things start looking up. For example:
• The monthly CESJ Executive Committee meeting was held on Wednesday, February 15. Among the many issues discussed was a new model for financing an "aquaponics" proposal, a proposal to use shipping containers as low-cost housing, and an effort to save a hospital in an inner city. Also discussed was motivating the CESJ network to promote both the ideas and specific publications in an organized and systematic way in order to increase visibility of CESJ in a positive manner.
• Continuing efforts are now bearing fruit in the drive to circulate a petition to have governments at all levels adopt a resolution supporting the Declaration of Monetary Justice.
• CESJ just received a book by Dr. Young K. Leigh, who recently earned his doctorate on the subject of Justice-Based Management. Dr. Leigh's book, Employee Ownership Company: An Enlightened Management and Employee Ownership Model for 21st Century Business Enterprises, is the first serious treatment of JBM to come out of academia.
• CESJ had an interesting discussion with Gordon Godwin, whose "Big Phat Band" just won a "Grammy" for a swing version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, about the CESJ ode, 16 Bills.
• As of this morning, we have had visitors from 57 different countries and 50 states and provinces in the United States and Canada to this blog over the past two months. Most visitors are from the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and the Philippines. People in Venezuela, Hong Kong, Australia, Portugal and the United States spent the most average time on the blog. The most popular postings this past week were "Thomas Hobbes on Private Property," "Raw Judicial Power, Part IX: Scott v. Sandford," "Raw Judicial Power, Part XI: The Slaughterhouse Cases," "Raw Judicial Power, Part VIII: Cotton is King," and "Raw Judicial Power, Part XIII: The Slaughterhouse Cases, Effects."
Those are the happenings for this week, at least that we know about. If you have an accomplishment that you think should be listed, send us a note about it at mgreaney [at] cesj [dot] org, and we'll see that it gets into the next "issue." If you have a short (250-400 word) comment on a specific posting, please enter your comments in the blog — do not send them to us to post for you. All comments are moderated anyway, so we'll see it before it goes up.
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