March, 2012 archive
Light Bloggery 0
Setting out window boxes on the deck.
Color Bind 0
John Cole on a recent racist picture:
Dustbiters 0
The FDIC has stirred to life again and begun to dine, leaving scraps of banks in its wake. Among the orts:
Little Ricky and the Big Con 0
They monger fear because fear is the enemy of thought.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
A Jury of Their Peers 0
But what if they gave a jury, and no one came?
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
“Fear still sells.”
The Old Boys Club vs. the Young Boys 0
Some years ago, the fashion amongst management consultants was to prattle on about “corporate culture.” That fashion, or at least the terminology, has likely changed–management consulting is the damndest profession for putting old wine in new bottles (while doubling the price) that I’ve ever seen–but the concept is valid: organizations do have cultures.
At Philly dot com, Rod Napier considers corporate culture, pederasty, and prelates:
(snip)
The cultures of their respective organizations – cultures they tolerated, if not outright fostered or even demanded – probably tended to discourage the people around them from plainly stating the most unpleasant truths at hand. The most likely scenario is that these men never heard the completely unvarnished truth, because they created or tolerated cultures that did not encourage people to tell them difficult truths.
He certainly has part of the story.
The other part is that, despite evidence before them, “leaders” in these situations usually don’t want to know the truth. They convince themselves that, as long as the cash, converts, and bowl bids roll in, they convince themselves that everything is just hunky-dory, much like the spouse who refuses to notice the affair that is the buzz of the town.
Mr. Napier may explain some of their behavior, but explanation is not excuse.
Race to the Right 0
At the Chicago Tribune, David Martin documents the Republican candidates attempts to out-right each other. A nugget from the narrative:
Santorum: Unlike phony conservatives, I am willing to take a tough stand on the issues of the day. That means no sex outside marriage and, even within marriage, no sex unless for the purpose of procreation.
Romney: OK, I’ll go you one better. No sex, period. Top that.
Gingrich: Fine by me. No sex. No immigration. No reproduction of any kind. We’ve got enough Americans already.
Read the rest.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Looking trendier every day:
(snip)
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, declined to 355,000 last week from 356,250. The average during last month’s survey week was 359,500, indicating the job market may have continued to improve.
Little Ricky Icky Ravi 1
Hadley Freeman contrasts Little Ricky, President wannabe, and Dharun Ravi, dorm room spy, and wonders at the contrast:
Ravi will soon find out if he must leave America. Santorum et al, meanwhile, compete to run it.
Words fail me.
Sauce for the Goose . . . 0
Pennsylvania State Sen. Larry Farnese plans to propose his own state rape bill, for the ganders:
Farnese’s legislation would require male patients to:
- Be given a full prostate exam and undergo a cardiac stress test.
- Submit a signed affidavit from a sexual partner stating that the patient suffers from erectile dysfunction.
- Participate in sex therapy to determine if there are nonphysical reasons for the individual’s condition.
- Watch a video detailing the side effects of erectile-dysfunction medication.
Frankly, I think that, until it involves involuntarily applying internal sonic vibrators, it doesn’t go far enough.
Facebook Frolics 0
Even if this passes, it’s likely still not a good idea to post that picture of your drunk doobie-smoking half-dressed weekend.
Researching job applicants through their social media use has become a well-known part of the screening process, but asking for total access is something one Illinois lawmaker thinks goes too far.
“It is just violating a person’s right to privacy,” said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago. After hearing from constituents who said they were asked to turn over Facebook access to prospective employers, Ford introduced a bill that would make the request illegal.
Given that I believe employers tend to over-react to this sort of stuff, I suspect that a lot of employers who check Facebook do so not so much for the content of an applicant’s posts as for a measure of stupid.
If you post a picture on the innerwebs of yourself smoking that doobie, you likely aren’t very bright in other areas of endeavor.
