2017 archive
The Snaring Economy, Dude-Bro Dept. 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Charles Johnson considers the culture of Uber (and many other Silicon Valley outfits). A snippet:
Bro culture fosters an environment where companies are run much like a fraternity house. It’s perfectly laid out in its infamous 14 core cultural values, which includes super-pumpedness, meritocracy/toe-stepping, and always be hustlin’.
A web search tells me that there is a lack of clarity as to what Uber’s “14 core values” may actually be. The clearest list(s) I was able to find are–er–somewhat less than coherent, as could be expected from a bunch of dude-bros with a morning-after hangover.
Afterthought:
On a radio show I heard recently, the host asked a caller, “What do you do for a living?” The caller responded, “I”m a Lyft driver.”
For Pete’s shake, if you do it for a living, it’s not sharing, it’s employment, and should be regulated accordingly.
The whole “sharing economy” thing is a con and a scam to avoid both obeying labor laws and treating employees like employees.
Tabloid Trash Talk 0
Dick Polman takes a look at a recent New Yorker article about the National Inquirer, because inquiring minds want to know. Here’s a nugget from Polman’s comments:
My own opinion about tabloids is this: I can understand why persons sometimes read them, just as I understand why some persons like schlocky horror films. Schlock sells.
What I don’t understand is why persons believe them.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Thom and his guest discuss the latest escalation of Republican efforts to gut out the vote.
The Real Trickle-Down 0
James F. Burns points out the there is one “trickle-down” that actually t-r-i-c-k-l-e-s down, very very slowly.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Practice random acts of politeness.
He was with two family members at the time. Investigators believe the person who fired the gun may not even know that they hit someone.
Detectives want to find out who fired the fatal shot.
The WWE Presidency 0
Tony Norman looks the notorious Wrestlemania Tweet and finds it an appropriate analogy for the Trump presidency:
The doctored video probably wasn’t intended as such, but there hasn’t been a more astute metaphor for the emptiness and triviality of the Trump presidency than using an old snippet from a fake wrestling match as a commentary on the media. A fake sport promoting fake news from a president widely considered to be fake.
“Social Media” Isn’t 0
The second paragraph in a story in today’s local rag states:
Linda has asked that her last name not be used for fear of harassment on social media.
“Freedom of Speech” Does Not Mean “Freedom from Accountability” 0
Josh Marshall offers some sensible and well-reasoned thoughts on the recent outing of a Reddit troll known for hate-full and racist posts.
“Thou Shalt Not Covet” 0
(But looting and smuggling are A-okay.)
Hobby Lobby will pay $3 million and return thousands of biblical artifacts smuggled into the U.S.
The craft store chain imported the items into the U.S. after deciding in 2009 to start collecting “a variety of historical Bibles and other artifacts.” Hobby Lobby said the cuneiform tablets and lay bullae were antiquities “consistent with the company’s mission and passion for the Bible.”
According to the story (follow the link), the items were mislabeled for import and purchased from anonymous sources. Furthermore, looting the historical artifacts of other countries is against the law. (I recall seeing reports of such rumors during the Iraq war.)
Shame Hobby Lobby doesn’t have the same passion for honesty and integrity that it claims to have for covetousness. Maybe it should read that Bible sometime.
Aside:
A bit of advice: When someone loudly proclaims his or her own Christianity, lock up your possessions and your children.
Blow-Back on Brownback 0
Sam and his guest discuss what happened when Kansas tried to implement the Laughable Curve. It wasn’t pretty.
