Mammon category archive
Legends in Their Own Minds 0
Methinks Atrios is onto something.
The Crypto Con 0
In our newest episode, the Crypto Con meets the Brady Bunch.
Courting DIsaster, Reprise 0
In reviewing recent statements by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Supremacist Court, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gene Collier finds himself somewhat taken aback by what hurts said Chief Justice’s tender fee-fees.
Incompetently Incongruously Assembled
0
Sam and Emma marvel at a Republican Congressman Dan Meuser’s inability to grasp that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exists to protect (wait for it) . . . .
. . . consumers
Sunk, Reprise 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Noam Spencer looks at why the deaths at sea of five rich people overshadowed those of 700 refugees. Here’ are two of the points he makes:
- Wealth bestows power. Power attracts attention because it has the potential to be consequential in our lives.
- Media outlets driven by profit push stories that are compelling, rather than those that are important.
See his complete piece for a detailed discussion of these and the other points he raises.
This New Gilded Age 0
Ad revenue has long been the primary source of income for newspapers, news magazines, and other news outlets. Now that the majority of persons report getting their news online (and, as an aside, far too much of it from “social” media, but I digress), that stream in drying up.
In the Wilmington News-Journal (and, I suspect, in other Gannett publications), Mike Reed, Chairman and CEO of Gannett, explains why Gannett has chosen to join other news outlets in suing Google for its stranglehold on domineering control of online ad revenue.
It’s a complex issue, so I’ll not try to excerpt or summarize his piece, just recommend that you give it a read.
Prime Targets 0
At Above the Law, Chris Williams takes a voyage into the Amazon jungle.
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
Llewellyn King, who travels frequently by air, sounds a warning.
If you want to know what you are indeed “in for,” follow the link.
Mean for the Sake of Mean 0
(snip)
Texas is the state where the most workers die from high temperatures, government data shows. At least 42 workers died in Texas between 2011 and 2021 from environmental heat exposure, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers’ unions claim this data doesn’t fully reflect the magnitude of the problem because heat-related deaths are often recorded under a different primary cause of injury.
Follow the link to learn why Texas Republicans think this is a good law.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Bruce Schneier asks whether “we really want to entrust this revolutionary technology (AI–ed.) solely to a small group of US tech companies?”
He goes on to remind us that
Follow the link for the rest of his thoughts.
Twits Own Twitter 0
Elon Musk apparently has the courage of his evictions.
No Place To Hide 0
At the Washington Monthly, Karina Montoya has a long and detailed article about how advertising strategy is changing once again. In the past decade, advertising moved to “social” media, with a disturbing side effect of eroding the business models of legitimate news organizations. Now, she argues, retailers are marketing personal information gathered through loyalty programs, credit card purchases, and the like to advertisers. The entire piece is worth a read, but this particular bit caught my eye:
Corporations, not the government, are your “surveillance state.” And we walk nekkid through its streets every day.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
Said algorithm engages those eyeballs and sucks them right down into a vortex of vile.
“Social” media isn’t.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
In San Francisco, driverless cars are providing persuasive evidence that drivers are a valuable resource.
Afterthought:
Methinks one of the most striking characteristics of “Tech Bros”–and I’m referring specifically to that particular subset of the tech community–is their arrogance.
How Far Will Wells-Fargo? 0
Well, as Yogi Berra once said, “It’s deja vu all over again.”
And, in more news of Wells-Gone-Farther . . . .
This New Gilded Age 0
LZ Granderson wonders whether Republicans have ever read any of the works of Charles Dickens.
Here’s how his article starts:
High school freshman girls should not double as cocktail waitresses at night.
That’s not a sentence I thought needed to be said, but here we are in 2023, and conservative lawmakers in more than 10 states are making efforts to roll back child labor laws. Cocktail waitress is just one of the disturbing occupations floated as appropriate work for children.
Iowa enacted a law last month allowing more kids to work more dangerous jobs. In Arkansas, a 14-year-old would no longer need to show an employer proof of parental approval.
Now the arguments against this movement are painfully obvious, but the so-called case for child labor requires unpacking.
Follow the link for the unpacking.
Afterthought:
As Republicans reintroduce child labor while barring immigrants who are willing to work, I am again reminded of Professor Shade’s mantra, “History is irony.”
The Steel Fist 0
Sam and Greg Mitchell discuss the “Memorial Day Massacre” and the ensuing cover-up of the police riot.