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It is a truism that if your team has its fundament handed to them by an opponent, it is much easier to take than if your team loses a game—rather than the other team winning it—out of sheer bum luck, bad breaks and apparently partisan officiating. Thus the denouement of Vikings-Steelers game has left me in a excessively, depressingly sour mood.
Anyways, there is a television program called “Lie to Me” in which some guy with superhuman intuitive skills (Tim Roth) can allegedly “tell” by barely discernable tics that someone is lying, and using this alleged skill to aid law enforcement. But like all cop shows these days, it says less of reality but of the habit of stereotyping, prejudice, paranoia and fear prevalent in certain demographics in this country. Cops on television are more remarkable not for their “expertise,” but for the way their prejudices rule their judgment; they always be “right,” but it helps to remember that these shows are fiction, and by design play fast and loose with credibility in order to manipulate viewers’ emotions, for ratings.
Not surprisingly, many people in this country think they have special “intuitive” skills in regard to judging others. A person can be behaving in a perfectly normal way that a perfectly rationale explanation, and if an observer isn’t inspired by personal prejudice against that person, then no further thought is given to it. But if that observer is told that that this other person or persons must be watched, because they are “suspected” of being up to no good, then even the most perfectly normal, rational behavior becomes suspect, and subject to interpretation, with imaginary motivation and intentions. Take, for instance, someone who is running on a sidewalk; if this happens to be one of “those people,” the observer (or the police) may suspect he is running away from the scene of crime, when in fact he is trying to catch a bus. Perhaps one of “those people” is in a grocery store, and this person is taking time comparing prices on items; this is perfectly normal, rational, even intelligent behavior. But if store employees have been “trained” to recognize “suspicious” behavior, then this person’s actions are definitely suspect, because only white people do “smart” things. "Those people" are only out to steal something when you're not looking.
A few years after 9-11, Seattle police received a call from a woman who said that a black man was taking pictures of the Ballard Locks; this was very suspicious behavior, perhaps evidence of terrorism. The police arrived, put him in temporary custody, and eventually ascertained that he was a local resident just trying out his new camera. The Ballard Locks are a popular tourist site, but not exactly something a terrorist looking to make a big score would consider bothering with; but in the paranoid racist’s mind, anything is possible. I recall watching a documentary on Nazi Germany, where in one city the records of the Gestapo had not been destroyed; there were only a handful of agents to monitor a district of a million people, yet the Gestapo archives were filled tens of thousands of reports. Save for the official reports, all were letters written by citizens who wrote to the Gestapo to report “suspicious” behavior. An examination of these letters reveal them to be more often than not petty, vindictive, prejudicial or subject to rather broad interpretation. Interestingly, when the Seattle media got a hold of this story, the nearly-all white neighborhood residents were somewhat embarrassed to be exposed as so provincial. Shortly thereafter some of them got together at the locks and began taking pictures; however, they just didn’t get it: no one cares if one white person or a hundred are taking pictures. No one thinks anything a white person does is suspicious—unless it is after the fact (or on a TV cop show). Just ask Timothy McVeigh (through your local medium).
Which brings me to the Los Angeles Police Department’s new “iWATCH” program, allegedly seeking the assistance of the public to report to the police “suspicious” behavior that might suggest that terrorism is afoot. Ron Reagan talked about this last Friday; the responses he received from white callers who favored this program revealed that even if it is the intention of this program to combat terrorism, whites tend to confuse the issues according to prejudices, stereotypes, paranoia and fear; almost invariably they move quickly from terrorism to crime, to “suspicious” behavior that may not be, and then when you finally force them to come out in the open, it’s really all about race. If an 89-year-old James von Brunn was seen scoping out the Holocaust Museum, who would have thought that suspicious, even if he had a hard, mean look? Or Timothy McVeigh examining the structural intricacies of the OKC federal building?
Life is a judgment call. The problem is who is making the judgments, and who has to pay the bill for it our society.
Is Victoria Jones going to apologize to your listeners for her rant against the Obama Administration for supposedly excluding Fox "News" from an interview with the Pay Czar?
This was a completely made-up story - made up by Fox, of course - and Major Garrett did have an interview with Feinberg just like all the other tv networks did.
You can't believe everything you hear, and you can't believe everything you read on Politico or Huffington Post.
You jumped on her horse and rode a ways down the road, too.
Ms. Jones really sounded like she has a big axe to grind with the Obama administration, which impression does her no credit in a discussion of objective political journalism.
@Quark -
In B Roll's absence, I'll answer for him ...
krauQ is Quark in "REVERSE order".
I'll leave you to translate !KO for yourself. :)
Don't slap yourself too hard.
Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!
My Health Plan:
01. Create: ³ Americare, Medicare for all²
02. Have the federal government become self-insured. Insurance companies
would administer the program much like they do for corporations today.
03. Americare would be for those Americans that are under 65 years old. Once
you reach 65, you would transition on to Medicare. When your Medicare
starts, you no longer have any costs. No Co-pays or medicine casts. We would
finally take care of our seniors.
04. With this new system, if you work for an insurance company you would
still be employed. As a matter of fact insurance companies would be hiring,
as more and more Americans would need their assistance to get on the system.
With everyone covered, insurance companies would have to depend on their
customer service to keep their clients.
05. AmeriCare would be deducted from your paycheck much like FICA is today.
The more money in you paycheck the more you would pay. It¹s based on a
percentage. Set co-pays at $10.00 for meds and for doctor visits. ($10.00 is
just a sample number to make it simple.)
06. If you are unemployed or unable to work you would have the coverage for
free. There would have to be a certain salary level that would also fall
under this plan.
07. Small businesses would no longer suffer with providing health care for
employees.
08. Large corporations would no longer be in the insurance business. They
too would save billions of dollars administering and providing health care.
They would have more monies on the bottom line and maybe they could retain
more American workers.
09. Under this plan, you could go to any hospital, any doctor. Any test
needed would be performed. You can never be denied the heath care you need.
If an American needs a procedure they would get it.
10. To make this program become reality it has to be simple. You have to
eliminate the amendments, the pork and all other distractions. Americans are
already suspicious of their government. If you keep it simple that can¹t
argue against it.
Perry Faciana
B Roll,
Please translate (I'll probably slap my forehead in recognition, but I don't know what this means):
krauQ
Thanks!
krauQ
!KO
Please listen to the above 3 parts in the REVERSE order (i.e., 3, 2, 1.)
Part 3:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olb...
Part 2:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olb...
Interesting discussion on public option and opt out on Countdown last night. (Video)
Part 1:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olb...
Thom made another leap of logic in his defense of having Suzanne Somers as a guest. The practices of oncologists have nothing to do with the efficacy of the solutions Somers is promoting.
As I recall the interview she gave a lot of anecdotal examples of the success of the approaches she's championing but I don't recall her citing clinical trials that back up the anecdotal results.
There are many examples of new and alternative treatments for a variety of diseases and conditions that prove ineffective in clinical trials.
@ Food
Sorry, I misread your post. I thought it asked if I had been Tapped. You said SEEN Tapped. never mind... I'll check it out. BTW I'm weird, I like taxes,,, OK. They are nothing more than the dues we owe to belong to the best of clubs. Fair is fair.
I really enjoy you'all. Have a fun and safe weekend.:-) I'm going to either go get tapped or perhaps grokked out in the garage. Either one sounds promising to me. (My shop has cable)
@Food Fascist
Good to see you back here. I missed you. I am afraid I don't understand your question. Tapped? After what? and... how did you know I was obese and diabetic? :-)
p.s. What the hell does soda pop and taxes do to the water supply? :-)
I didn't even take a walk with Loretta and sniff the fragrant air of Portland today. I must be dense. again
@D-Day -
OUCH! I didn't even catch MY OWN pun! :D
@Loretta,
Thank you for your thoughtful words. One good thing you can say about my generation, (boomers) half of us tuned in and dropped out....the other half took over business and politics and led us to the edge...so at least we demonstrated for the children the ways they didn't want to go. That some generation would finally decide we are a-holes and not to be emulated was inevitable.
DDay-
Have you seen Tapped? After that, you for sure will want to tax soda- aside from the diabetic and obesity effects it has- but what it does to the municipal water supplies is also a crime.
I got an idea for a pre recorded holiday show for when you are on vacation. Us progressives should be able to adapt Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol to exactly what is going on to today with the US Chamber of Commerce and GOP Senators etc-- Could be fun!
Dday,
Thank you for your amazing post about your father who taught you business ethics at the dinner table! You must have grown up with so very many wonderful stories after he lived the life that he did. His ethics resemble the earlier requirements our country had for corporations. I heard Thom speak the other evening on another talk show host's program and he explained that during the civil war period 1500 corporations were given the "death sentence" every year if they weren't working for the good of the people.
I also so agree with you about this generation. At our local university they have a sustainability program, and I often attend lectures there where enthusiastic students are positive, energetic, excited and unstoppable. They refuse to let cynicism or doom and gloom nihilism defeat them. I feel excited and hopeful just sitting amongst them. They often have free lectures from local scientists every Friday at noon.
@mstaggerlee,
Re: Taxes and Punishment
Soda/soft drink tax combined with grasping at straws? Very clever! ( I had to acknowledge it.)
I hope you all read Ann Pancake's ---Strange As This Weather Has Been, -- a novel about the effects of coal mining on a family living in Appalachia. She is not heavy-handed with didactic politics but tells you through the moving voices of her four wonderful characters what it's like to live through a terrible flood more than likely caused by coal mining. Ann Pancake grew up there, so she writes with an incredibly authentic voice that has been compared to Faulkner. After you read her novel, you will be writing letters to your congressmen every day to ask them to end mountain-top removal .
Food Fascist
Are you saying that Thom said he has 30 million households on Free Speech TV? I find it hard to believe he'd say that, even though he says things all the time that I find it hard to believe he said.
Free Speech TV is primarily on the DISH Network (with a few programs also on some public access channels, if I'm not mistaken). The DISH Network has less than 14 million subscribers.
Could you clarify what you meant about Thom saying he has "30 million households on Free speech..."
Story in Politico wrong- surprise surprise. And maybe Obama is pretending he is with the Corporatists so that he will go back to them and say - oh sorry folks, wall st. I tried, but the people rose against me.
Here is another good environmental topic re Water Wars - see the documentary Tapped. We had a special screening last evening and enough of us were angry enough to begin the process of trying to ban bottled water from our coop.
@ Mark
I really enjoy your thoughtful and well reasoned posts. Today's offering made me think about what has changed in American business over the past 50 years. My perspective is informed by personal experience rather than scholarship. I grew up the son of a "businessman". My father's story serves as an example and baseline for comparison to where we now find ourselves. His story was once fairly typical but now seems outdated. The things that now seem quaint are the things that are most sorely missed today, in my opinion. Broadly speaking, the things about which I'm talking about are values and motivations. In most cases if not all, these things are developed in each of us as we grow up and gain personal experience. Some we learn in our home and some we absorb from our time and communities.
My father's life was marked by several life changing events which colored everything that followed. He was orphaned at the age of 12, the second youngest of six siblings. Five years before losing his mother, his father had suddenly died just weeks before the 1929 crash. He went from living in a three story mansion with maids and a third floor ballroom to living in a garage of a relative. The Depression was a formative experience not only for him but for most everyone who lived through it. World War II was the other shared experience which imprinted the lives of all those who lived through it. His generation had two climactic shared experiences which seems to have resulted in broadly shared traits by the majority of the people. Pulling together and working cooperatively for the good of all was a necessary and ubiquitous value. Shared sacrifice was expected and accepted as nothing terribly special.
Not so very surprisingly, security and stability became my father's primary concerns during the rest of his life. Experience is a stern but effective teacher.
Life and death has a way of focusing priorities.
After the war, my father, now married, finished graduate school with an engineering degree and began his life working his way up the corporate ladder. We moved a lot. By the time I was in High School, he had reached the "top". He was the head of a large company that employed thousands of people. After a time his company was purchased by a much larger multi-national corporation. He became one of several vice presidents there. I began to learn about his new frustrations with work at the nightly dinner table. Dad was what was called a "belt and suspender man", a term for engineers. During the fifties and sixties many if not most companies were led by his type. They knew how to build things and sell things. Dad complained that more and more his fellow executives were MBA's and "bean counters". They didn't know much about building a better mouse trap but rather about moving money around. It angered him that R&D was being short-changed in order to bolster stock prices and earnings. Research & Development for manufacturers was the equivalent to seed corn for a farmer. Short term greed at the expense of a secure future. My dad was becoming "old fashioned" in this new world.
Now days if you listen to any number of cable networks you'll see some young beauty talking about economics and business and you'll hear them state with confidence as fact that a business's sole responsibility is to serve their share holders. I heard a group discussion on CNBC several months ago about companies that operated without ethical lapses or complaints versus those that had histories of repeated violations. Melissa Francis of CNBC stated that she didn't see why that should matter as long as they made money. Her values are pervasive amongst young business types today.
My father had a longer list of responsibilities for business leaders. There is a responsibility first to the owners, second to the employees, third to the community and country, and fourth to the future survival of the business. By his reckoning none should suffer at the hands of the other. All depended on the health of the others. Honesty and integrity were essential to fulfilling the civic duty of being a good corporate citizen. You see, he saw corporations as having a sort of person-hood too. Not because of the rights that could be conflated but rather because of the responsibility to be reliably dependable and answerable to values greater than mere greed. Stewardship to the future was a value he learned at an early age through the shared hardships of Depression and War. Subsequent generations seem to have less shared concerns and less interest in delaying immediate gratification.
Every man for himself! He who dies with the most toys wins! Personal choice, Personal responsibility, Personal freedom, Personal everything! etc. In many ways I am ashamed of my generation and several that have followed. My hope lays at the feet of this newest generation. Hopefully they will revisit some values from the past that we abandoned so carelessly and foolishly. Greed is not good. It may even eventually be deadly. I see signs that they may be motivated by more worthy ideals than just self. I hope so.