Mammon category archive
The Privatization Scam, Chartering a Course for Disaster Dept. 0
The Arizona Republic’s Laurie Roberts comments on a recent charter school “reform” bill in the Arizona state legislature. A snippet:
Follow the link for more.
Aside:
Charter schools were a con from the git-go.
The Payola of the Privileged 0
I am not surprised at the college admissions cheating indictments, particularly as they involve ersatz athletes and corrupt coaches. The corruption of college athletics has been obvious to anyone who would look for a long long time. It is why I can no longer enjoy watching college football games on New Year’s Day.
At the core of the scandal is the fear of powerful, wealthy, privileged persons that their privilege was not enough to get them what they felt they or their children were due simply because of who they were, so they decided that their privilege included the right to cheat.
At The Sacramento Bee, Marcos Breton writes a powerful essay that highlights the other side of this coin: persons who are accused of being undeserving because of the spelling of their last name or the color of their skin, those whom the jealous privileged accuse of being “tokens.”
Here’s a bit:
I struggle to express the hole these indignities burned in me when I was naive and young and unaware of the social, political and cultural upheaval caused by the integration of white collar jobs and universities, a process that began before I came of age in the 1980s, but was in full backlash mode when I cluelessly took my place in the line of American opportunity.
Read it.
Facebook Frolics 0
Mark Zuckerberg recently announced efforts to clean up Facebook’s act.
The AP’s Frank Bajak urges us to take that announcement with several pounds of salt. He suggests that it’s Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes for a shifting strategy from the Zuckerborg for assimilating its victims users. Here’s a bit from his report:
Facebook “wants to be the operating system of our lives,” said Siva Vaidhyanathan, director of media studies at the University of Virginia.
Aside:
When have any of Facebook’s promises to stop misbehaving come to pass?
Mark Zuckerberg is the Eddie Haskell of Silicon Valley.
Profligate Proliferation 0
Nicholas Kristof looks at the effort on the part of Donald Trump and, in particular, Jared Kushner, to supply Saudi Arabia with nuclear reactors capable of use in creating nuclear weapons. He cuts to the quick (emphasis in the original):
Trump seems to believe that the Saudis have us over a barrel: If we don’t help them with nuclear technology, someone else will. That misunderstands the U.S.-Saudi relationship. The Saudis depend on us for their security, and the blunt truth is that we hold all the cards in this relationship, not them.
Follow the link for the entire article.
Beyond Beneath Right and Wrong
0
Bruce Lowry considers Donald Trump’s recent remarks about the death of Otto Warmbier and earlier remarks about the murder of Washington Post journalist and Saudi Arab expatriot Jamal Khashoggi.
He reaches a chilling and quite unsurprising conclusion.
I do not wish to summarize or excerpt his article. Just follow the link to read it.
Cashing Out 0
Signe comments on Amazon’s attempt to foist cashless stores on Philadelphia.
Aside:
I see persons using cards and, these days, phones, for all sorts of tiny purchases, as tiny as a cup of coffee or a pack of gum.
I always wonder how the heck they keep track of them.
There’s in-App for That 0
Farron and Scott Hardy discuss the “in app” phish.
Aside:
When we went out for breakfast Sunday morning, we saw a kid, maybe about six or eight, wearing a “Fortnite” tee-shirt. Wonder if he’s been suckered?
Protected Fee-Fees 0
Sam marvels at the concern certain members of the media have for protecting the delicate fee-fees of the very rich.
Weather Mapping 0
I second the advice that Farron gives at the end of the video: Turn off the “Location Services” in your phone or tablet unless you have a positive need for it. Also, when considering installing a new app, inspect the permissions it requests carefully. If they seem hinky, find an alternative.
Prints of Darkness 0
Farron and Scott Hardy discuss an odd case out of Illinois regarding Six Flags Amusement Park’s practice of obtaining and storing customers’ finger prints without obtaining required permission.
Full Disclosure:
I haven’t been to an amusement park in two decades. I had no idea that they were now printing customers.
