Posts
The productivity of American workers continues to lead the world. Despite criticisms (much of it unwarranted, IMHO) of the Millennials and some segments of Gen X, the workplace is still paying homage to the Protestant view of work. Yet, with productivity continuing to ramp upward, wages have stagnated and Americans are now earning less, in real dollars, than any time since 2003, at least according to an article, by Stephen Greenhous and David Leonhardt, in today's NY Times.
According to the writers, "The median hourly wage for American workers has declined 2 percent since 2003, after factoring in inflation. The drop has been especially notable, economists say, because productivity — the amount that an average worker produces in an hour and the basic wellspring of a nation’s living standards — has risen steadily over the same period.
As a result, wages and salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation’s gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947, while corporate profits have climbed to their highest share since the 1960’s. UBS, the investment bank, recently described the current period as 'the golden era of profitability.'"
So we are working more and earning less--many of us knew this intuitively, without having it quantified. What does this ultimately mean for American workers? Ben Bernanke, Fed chairman, while not specifically addressing the issue of wages, did warn about "the unequal distribution of the economy’s spoils..." and that these recent economic changes imperil "the livelihoods of some workers and the profits of some firms."
Despite these economic storm clouds, Americans are generally less dissatisfied with the economy than at any time since the 1980s and early 90s. The asset "house of cards" perpetuated by rising house and stock values, has allowed many Americans to remain blissfully unaware of any ill winds blowing.
On the flipside, profits for companies and ultimately, those at the very top, continued to grow--a clear case of the rich getting richer and the rest, not doing so well.
"There are two economies out there,” Mr. Cook [Charles Cook, publisher a political newsletter], the political analyst, said. “One has been just white hot, going great guns. Those are the people who have benefited from globalization, technology, greater productivity and higher corporate earnings."
“And then there’s the working stiffs,’’ he added, “who just don’t feel like they’re getting ahead despite the fact that they’re working very hard. And there are a lot more people in that group than the other group.”
While most Americans seem to be too busy with their reality-based TV programs and other forms of bread and circuses to notice, there are some who recognize the seriousness of this issue and propose possible solutions to this dangerous inequality.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Looking for some real news
Maine’s media community is woeful at best and non-existent at worst. The former purveyors of hard news—the daily publications—have given themselves over to fluff pieces, weekly spin-offs and fake news supplements. While Maine’s newspapers face a challenge, with our state’s, population of just over 1 million, which contributes to flagging circulation numbers, our “flagship” newspaper, headquartered in the state’s largest city of Portland, could attempt to practice journalism, at least occasionally.
While I was spared another patronizing Sunday column this week from the Portland Newspapers’ Jeanne Guttman, I’m sure she’ll be back soon, probably touting their latest journalistic “technique”—the investigative column.
For those who may not be familiar with the Sunday newspaper of the Portland Newspapers (owned by the out-of-state Blethen News company), the Maine Sunday Telegram frequently carries a column by Guttman, the paper’s editor. Guttman regularly sermonizes on the trials, tribulations and difficulties inherent in being a newspaper, or how hard it is being an editor, or some combination of these basic themes. She frequently “shares” with us some “success story” that they’ve had, or gushes about the work of some intern who just wrote their first column, or how her staff all love her and just are the best people she’s ever been associated with (sniff, sniff). OK, so I’m going over the top here. I think you get the drift. All you really need to know about the editor of Maine’s largest paper can be gleaned from this older article in the Portland Phoenix. [This link doesn't appear to be loading; it might be down temporarily, or the story may have disappeared down the memory hole. I'll continue to try to update this link, or find an alternative.--jb]
This Sunday, the MST rolled out a new technique on their front page, or possibly, it was an older technique, I just happened to miss it. At the very top of the front page was an investigative story about overtime costs at the Portland Fire Department. Just in case we might not be aware that the Portland Newspaper’s reporters still practiced investigative journalism, the story was labeled, “Telegram Investigation: Portland Firefighters” in red. Just below it, on the right, above the fold, was another story about a possible ethics violation at the Maine Turnpike Authority. Investigative journalism on the pages of the Maine Sunday Telegram—“Hallelujah and glory be to God!”
Speaking of the turnpike, the Lewiston Sun-Journal, which lies northwest of Portland, as one travels Maine’s major north-south artery, semi-regularly practices journalism of the investigative variety. Better than that, they don’t label their stories, because apparently, S-J readers are familiar that the practice of journalism includes investigative work. In fact, one of their editorial page editors, David Farmer, had a solid investigative piece about how the TABOR initiative was being funded by large out of state interests. With this so-called “people’s revolt” actually part of a well-orchestrated national strategy that has ties to right-of-center conservative and libertarian groups with ties to people like Grover Norquist, Farmer’s piece is the kind of needful reporting that used to pass for news, back when most journalists took their craft seriously and editors demanded much more from their staffs. Newspapers, while they have always been financed by advertising, didn’t always place reporting in the subservient role that it occupies today.
As Chris Busby, one of the few muckraking journalists left in a state that at one time had a proud tradition for that brand of journalism (think the Maine Times, under John Cole), has an editorial (The Bollard's View; August 14, 2006-Blethen foists fake newspaper on Portland) about some of the practices of his hometown newspapers, the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram.
For those Mainers (and others, from away) who remember the days when reporters reported on the happenings and hi jinks of crooks, criminals and corrupt politicians (often the same people), Busby’s online publication, The Bollard is a worthwhile read. While certainly Portland-centric in content, it’s a refreshing read and will help purge your system from the impaction that is caused by the drivel emanating from the likes of Guttman and Co.
I can hardly wait for next week’s column from my favorite editor. What new journalistic tip or trade secret will she let us in on next? I can only imagine.
While I was spared another patronizing Sunday column this week from the Portland Newspapers’ Jeanne Guttman, I’m sure she’ll be back soon, probably touting their latest journalistic “technique”—the investigative column.
For those who may not be familiar with the Sunday newspaper of the Portland Newspapers (owned by the out-of-state Blethen News company), the Maine Sunday Telegram frequently carries a column by Guttman, the paper’s editor. Guttman regularly sermonizes on the trials, tribulations and difficulties inherent in being a newspaper, or how hard it is being an editor, or some combination of these basic themes. She frequently “shares” with us some “success story” that they’ve had, or gushes about the work of some intern who just wrote their first column, or how her staff all love her and just are the best people she’s ever been associated with (sniff, sniff). OK, so I’m going over the top here. I think you get the drift. All you really need to know about the editor of Maine’s largest paper can be gleaned from this older article in the Portland Phoenix. [This link doesn't appear to be loading; it might be down temporarily, or the story may have disappeared down the memory hole. I'll continue to try to update this link, or find an alternative.--jb]
This Sunday, the MST rolled out a new technique on their front page, or possibly, it was an older technique, I just happened to miss it. At the very top of the front page was an investigative story about overtime costs at the Portland Fire Department. Just in case we might not be aware that the Portland Newspaper’s reporters still practiced investigative journalism, the story was labeled, “Telegram Investigation: Portland Firefighters” in red. Just below it, on the right, above the fold, was another story about a possible ethics violation at the Maine Turnpike Authority. Investigative journalism on the pages of the Maine Sunday Telegram—“Hallelujah and glory be to God!”
Speaking of the turnpike, the Lewiston Sun-Journal, which lies northwest of Portland, as one travels Maine’s major north-south artery, semi-regularly practices journalism of the investigative variety. Better than that, they don’t label their stories, because apparently, S-J readers are familiar that the practice of journalism includes investigative work. In fact, one of their editorial page editors, David Farmer, had a solid investigative piece about how the TABOR initiative was being funded by large out of state interests. With this so-called “people’s revolt” actually part of a well-orchestrated national strategy that has ties to right-of-center conservative and libertarian groups with ties to people like Grover Norquist, Farmer’s piece is the kind of needful reporting that used to pass for news, back when most journalists took their craft seriously and editors demanded much more from their staffs. Newspapers, while they have always been financed by advertising, didn’t always place reporting in the subservient role that it occupies today.
As Chris Busby, one of the few muckraking journalists left in a state that at one time had a proud tradition for that brand of journalism (think the Maine Times, under John Cole), has an editorial (The Bollard's View; August 14, 2006-Blethen foists fake newspaper on Portland) about some of the practices of his hometown newspapers, the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram.
For those Mainers (and others, from away) who remember the days when reporters reported on the happenings and hi jinks of crooks, criminals and corrupt politicians (often the same people), Busby’s online publication, The Bollard is a worthwhile read. While certainly Portland-centric in content, it’s a refreshing read and will help purge your system from the impaction that is caused by the drivel emanating from the likes of Guttman and Co.
I can hardly wait for next week’s column from my favorite editor. What new journalistic tip or trade secret will she let us in on next? I can only imagine.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Headed south...in a hand basket
[While I've written at length about my aversion for much of what passes for major league baseball, surprisingly, this summer, I've found myself watching more Red Sox baseball than I have for the past four or five years. If I'm not actively consumed by the images on the screen, I've got Jerry (Trupiano) and Joe (Castiglione) on in the background, while I'm doing some work. Because of this, I've developed my own opinions about the 2006 version of New England's boys of summer. Not surprisingly, I find myself at odds with much of what's written, or talked about on sports talk radio.
Here is my "state of the nation" report and indictment of much of what I see is wrong with this team. For much of the summer, this team has lulled most New Englanders to sleep, especially since many have been mollified by the World Championship in 2004.--JB]
Headed south...in a hand basket
The Red Sox season is over. After 121 games, the Sox, while still 17 games above .500 and still within striking distance of the “Evil Empire,” don’t need to be bothered with printing playoff tickets this year. After last October’s train wreck against Chicago that might not be a bad thing.
Francona (more on him, later) and Co. have hit the proverbial banana peel in their season and are reeling. Last night's debacle exposed them for the playoff poseurs they are, courtesy of the team that beat them on the field, but more importantly, have beaten them in the general manager’s suite.
Theo Epstein, who was the talk of the town when he maneuvered his chess pieces at in 2004, being dubbed, “the boy wonder,” has seen reality set in, as experienced by most of the other 28 members of his elite fraternity. While at least Epstein gets to breath the heady air that comes with well-heeled owners, he still is a distant second compared to the cash available in Brian Cashman’s player acquisition account.
More than any other group of modern day sports fan, the legions of New Englanders and the many other bandwagon riders from the rest of the country who call themselves members of Red Sox Nation (a fairly recent moniker, one I never heard uttered back when I was rooting for Yaz, the Conigliaro brothers, Ray Culp and Sonny Siebert), these folks live in a constant state of delusion. Now a tenuous grasp on reality isn’t new for Sox fans. Most of us who grew up with the team, pre-2004, never could be accused of being fair weather fans, as Boston baseball lived in the fog of fading playoff hopes and late-season collapses. Those older than me, remember the days when the Sox were perennial second division members, living at the back of the pack with perennial losers like the old Washington Senators and Kansas City Athletics, teams that rarely if ever found themselves in a meaningful game come August, or September.
Enough of ancient history. There is more than sufficient fodder to discuss with the 2006 edition of the Sox. It has been said that pitching is 90 percent of the game. Whether it’s 90, or even 75 or 80 percent, the sorry group of pitchers that pass for a major league staff in Boston this summer are a sad assortment to hitch ¾ of your hopes and fortunes to.
With the exception of Curt Schilling, who looks wrung out and at the end of the line, bags under his eyes and all, the Sox lack no other starter remotely resembling consistency. Overpaid and over hyped Josh Beckett seems to have reached the wall, now that his innings have reached the 150 mark. Beckett, despite overpowering stuff, has a history of running out of gas around the 150-180 inning mark (his career high is 178, coming into this year). That’s not a track record worthy of the Sox’ recent contract extension.
Yesterday, Francona ran household name, Jason Johnson, out to the bump in game one. This is a guy so valuable to his team that after the game, he was cut lose, being designated for assignment after another substandard outing. While his 3-12 mark and 6.35 ERA are certainly the marks of a guy worthy of the scrapheap, why would you as a manager pin your hopes for October on someone this ineffective? While Epstein has made some decent moves in the past, his recent track record offers ample ammunition for scrutiny.
Since the trading deadline has come and gone, all I’ve heard emanating from the lips of Theo and his apologists are that there are no pitchers available. No shit, Theo! That’s because Cory Lidle was snatched up by the Yankees and future hall-of-famer, Greg Maddux, is now donning Dodger blue and pitching like he did a decade ago. A casual glance at the standings should have given Cleo (I mean, Theo) an idea what teams might be in the market to dump salary, or part with pitching for some prospects. Speaking of prospects, I’m sick and tired of hearing all the talk about Epstein not wanting to “mortgage the future for the present.” The future is all speculative. The present is that you are sniffing the Yankees’ hindquarters and battling with Chicago and Minnesota for the chance of playing in the post-season. There's no guarantee that you'll ever be this close, next year, or for years to come. A more experienced and skilled GM would have recognized that and not have been so enamored with the likes of Lester, Hansen and Delcarmen, who’ve done nothing of much value at the major league level other than light up the radar gun and get hit, in Hansen’s case and give his team 120-pitch, five-inning outings consistently, in Lester’s case. Delcarmen, if he had any real value, would be able to do more than fill a middle relief role that traditionally had been the last vestiges of the careers for 35+ pitchers on the downside of their careers, not a so-called prospect.
Contrast the Red Sox pitching, which now is forced to rely on geriatric left-handers like David Wells to chew up innings, with wild card contenders, Minnesota and Chicago. With Johann Santana pitching 7 innings, or more, in nearly 70 percent of his starts and former ace, Brad Radke (who is pitching with a torn labrum, btw), giving them solid starts of late, not to mention rookie phenom Francisco Liriano (currently on the DL), along with a #4 starter like Carlos Silva, the Twins have the superior pitching. Chicago counters with Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle and Freddy Garcia, not a bad threesome to pin their hopes on for repeating as World Champions, if they can win the race to the finish with Minnesota.
Back to Francona. This is a guy whose handling of pitchers makes me look back fondly on the Grady Little years. Anytime any of his starters begins getting a whiff of 100 pitches, Francona’s into his bullpen, chewing it up, not recognizing that you might need some of these guys for the stretch-run. Francona’s been doing this since April. Particularly with Schilling and Beckett. How many times has he taken Schilling out after six, when he wasn’t at, or barely over the 100-pitch mark? And then there’s Beckett. A 24-year-old guy who throws 97 ought to be able to give you regular outings of 115 to 120 pitches. Instead, they baby this guy, which with his track record, might be a good thing. This only furthers my post so far about the Sox. If you have a guy as your #2 guy that can’t consistently get you into the 7th, you’ve got some problems, especially when the guys at the back of your rotation are 43-year-old David Wells and Jon “I’ll give you five innings” Lester.
I want to say something about the entire philosophy of pitching at the big league level that’s totally fucked. Looking back at historical prototypes for pitchers like Schilling and Beckett, you naturally settle on Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. Ryan, particularly early in his career, routinely had outings where his pitch count was in the 150 to 175 range. He pitched several ball games where he threw well over 200 pitches. This is the same guy that was still throwing in the mid-90s at the age of 45! Clemens’ career was very similar, although he didn’t have the pitch counts that Ryan did. It all comes down to how these guys were developed.
The modern pitchers, guys like Hansen, Delcarmen, Lester and even Papelbon (who in his current role of throwing 20 pitches per outing and racking up 80+ innings for the year is an absolute waste of his Clemens-esque talent), are handled with kid gloves at their minor league stops in Portland and Pawtucket. If you want to use Papelbon out of the pen (stupid and not anything I’d ever support as manager), then get Hansen up pitch-wise so he can give you six, seven innings per outing. Personally, I think Hansen is a bust, but that’s just me. Unlike many Sox-watchers, I’ve actually coached players and made personnel moves at a level above T-ball. I know what 19, 20 and 21 year-old arms are capable of. Hell, 37-year-old John Carriero (of Patriot Mutual fame) could probably go out and give the Sox more quality innings than 75 percent of the current crop of “prospects.”
I’ve gone on longer than I wanted to, but I wanted to weigh in and bring some reality to this never-ending dysfunctional dialogue that goes on about the Red Sox. The Sox pitching sucks, you can’t contend with two starters, Terry Francona is a sorry handler of pitchers (as well as managing a game) and Theo ain’t all that the Nation thinks he is.
Give it another two weeks and see if I’m not right about this. Hell, give it another three days and I think you might begin to get on board with what I’m telling ‘ya. Unless you are as delusional as most other Sox’ fans that is.
Here is my "state of the nation" report and indictment of much of what I see is wrong with this team. For much of the summer, this team has lulled most New Englanders to sleep, especially since many have been mollified by the World Championship in 2004.--JB]
Headed south...in a hand basket
The Red Sox season is over. After 121 games, the Sox, while still 17 games above .500 and still within striking distance of the “Evil Empire,” don’t need to be bothered with printing playoff tickets this year. After last October’s train wreck against Chicago that might not be a bad thing.
Francona (more on him, later) and Co. have hit the proverbial banana peel in their season and are reeling. Last night's debacle exposed them for the playoff poseurs they are, courtesy of the team that beat them on the field, but more importantly, have beaten them in the general manager’s suite.
Theo Epstein, who was the talk of the town when he maneuvered his chess pieces at in 2004, being dubbed, “the boy wonder,” has seen reality set in, as experienced by most of the other 28 members of his elite fraternity. While at least Epstein gets to breath the heady air that comes with well-heeled owners, he still is a distant second compared to the cash available in Brian Cashman’s player acquisition account.
More than any other group of modern day sports fan, the legions of New Englanders and the many other bandwagon riders from the rest of the country who call themselves members of Red Sox Nation (a fairly recent moniker, one I never heard uttered back when I was rooting for Yaz, the Conigliaro brothers, Ray Culp and Sonny Siebert), these folks live in a constant state of delusion. Now a tenuous grasp on reality isn’t new for Sox fans. Most of us who grew up with the team, pre-2004, never could be accused of being fair weather fans, as Boston baseball lived in the fog of fading playoff hopes and late-season collapses. Those older than me, remember the days when the Sox were perennial second division members, living at the back of the pack with perennial losers like the old Washington Senators and Kansas City Athletics, teams that rarely if ever found themselves in a meaningful game come August, or September.
Enough of ancient history. There is more than sufficient fodder to discuss with the 2006 edition of the Sox. It has been said that pitching is 90 percent of the game. Whether it’s 90, or even 75 or 80 percent, the sorry group of pitchers that pass for a major league staff in Boston this summer are a sad assortment to hitch ¾ of your hopes and fortunes to.
With the exception of Curt Schilling, who looks wrung out and at the end of the line, bags under his eyes and all, the Sox lack no other starter remotely resembling consistency. Overpaid and over hyped Josh Beckett seems to have reached the wall, now that his innings have reached the 150 mark. Beckett, despite overpowering stuff, has a history of running out of gas around the 150-180 inning mark (his career high is 178, coming into this year). That’s not a track record worthy of the Sox’ recent contract extension.
Yesterday, Francona ran household name, Jason Johnson, out to the bump in game one. This is a guy so valuable to his team that after the game, he was cut lose, being designated for assignment after another substandard outing. While his 3-12 mark and 6.35 ERA are certainly the marks of a guy worthy of the scrapheap, why would you as a manager pin your hopes for October on someone this ineffective? While Epstein has made some decent moves in the past, his recent track record offers ample ammunition for scrutiny.
Since the trading deadline has come and gone, all I’ve heard emanating from the lips of Theo and his apologists are that there are no pitchers available. No shit, Theo! That’s because Cory Lidle was snatched up by the Yankees and future hall-of-famer, Greg Maddux, is now donning Dodger blue and pitching like he did a decade ago. A casual glance at the standings should have given Cleo (I mean, Theo) an idea what teams might be in the market to dump salary, or part with pitching for some prospects. Speaking of prospects, I’m sick and tired of hearing all the talk about Epstein not wanting to “mortgage the future for the present.” The future is all speculative. The present is that you are sniffing the Yankees’ hindquarters and battling with Chicago and Minnesota for the chance of playing in the post-season. There's no guarantee that you'll ever be this close, next year, or for years to come. A more experienced and skilled GM would have recognized that and not have been so enamored with the likes of Lester, Hansen and Delcarmen, who’ve done nothing of much value at the major league level other than light up the radar gun and get hit, in Hansen’s case and give his team 120-pitch, five-inning outings consistently, in Lester’s case. Delcarmen, if he had any real value, would be able to do more than fill a middle relief role that traditionally had been the last vestiges of the careers for 35+ pitchers on the downside of their careers, not a so-called prospect.
Contrast the Red Sox pitching, which now is forced to rely on geriatric left-handers like David Wells to chew up innings, with wild card contenders, Minnesota and Chicago. With Johann Santana pitching 7 innings, or more, in nearly 70 percent of his starts and former ace, Brad Radke (who is pitching with a torn labrum, btw), giving them solid starts of late, not to mention rookie phenom Francisco Liriano (currently on the DL), along with a #4 starter like Carlos Silva, the Twins have the superior pitching. Chicago counters with Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle and Freddy Garcia, not a bad threesome to pin their hopes on for repeating as World Champions, if they can win the race to the finish with Minnesota.
Back to Francona. This is a guy whose handling of pitchers makes me look back fondly on the Grady Little years. Anytime any of his starters begins getting a whiff of 100 pitches, Francona’s into his bullpen, chewing it up, not recognizing that you might need some of these guys for the stretch-run. Francona’s been doing this since April. Particularly with Schilling and Beckett. How many times has he taken Schilling out after six, when he wasn’t at, or barely over the 100-pitch mark? And then there’s Beckett. A 24-year-old guy who throws 97 ought to be able to give you regular outings of 115 to 120 pitches. Instead, they baby this guy, which with his track record, might be a good thing. This only furthers my post so far about the Sox. If you have a guy as your #2 guy that can’t consistently get you into the 7th, you’ve got some problems, especially when the guys at the back of your rotation are 43-year-old David Wells and Jon “I’ll give you five innings” Lester.
I want to say something about the entire philosophy of pitching at the big league level that’s totally fucked. Looking back at historical prototypes for pitchers like Schilling and Beckett, you naturally settle on Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. Ryan, particularly early in his career, routinely had outings where his pitch count was in the 150 to 175 range. He pitched several ball games where he threw well over 200 pitches. This is the same guy that was still throwing in the mid-90s at the age of 45! Clemens’ career was very similar, although he didn’t have the pitch counts that Ryan did. It all comes down to how these guys were developed.
The modern pitchers, guys like Hansen, Delcarmen, Lester and even Papelbon (who in his current role of throwing 20 pitches per outing and racking up 80+ innings for the year is an absolute waste of his Clemens-esque talent), are handled with kid gloves at their minor league stops in Portland and Pawtucket. If you want to use Papelbon out of the pen (stupid and not anything I’d ever support as manager), then get Hansen up pitch-wise so he can give you six, seven innings per outing. Personally, I think Hansen is a bust, but that’s just me. Unlike many Sox-watchers, I’ve actually coached players and made personnel moves at a level above T-ball. I know what 19, 20 and 21 year-old arms are capable of. Hell, 37-year-old John Carriero (of Patriot Mutual fame) could probably go out and give the Sox more quality innings than 75 percent of the current crop of “prospects.”
I’ve gone on longer than I wanted to, but I wanted to weigh in and bring some reality to this never-ending dysfunctional dialogue that goes on about the Red Sox. The Sox pitching sucks, you can’t contend with two starters, Terry Francona is a sorry handler of pitchers (as well as managing a game) and Theo ain’t all that the Nation thinks he is.
Give it another two weeks and see if I’m not right about this. Hell, give it another three days and I think you might begin to get on board with what I’m telling ‘ya. Unless you are as delusional as most other Sox’ fans that is.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Buffeted by bureaucracy
In the past, I’ve taken more than my fair share of potshots at governmental officials. It’s ironic that I currently find myself serving in a quasi-governmental capacity in my new position. While I’m not specifically part of the state system, my new role finds me operating within the parameters of state and local government.
Fortunately for me, my boss appears to be a real asset. A “recovering academic” as he likes to refer to himself, from his former days as a university dean, he epitomizes what government ought to be—focused, given to results and not beholden to regulation and red tape. Having said that, I’m aware of the myriad of rules and regulations that have the potential of fencing me in and limiting my effectiveness in my current capacity.
After spending much of my first week or so being introduced to movers and shakers and people who have reputations for getting things done, I had my first taste of what I can only imagine soviet-style bureaucracy to have been like. Better, what passes for the government that so many Americans like to beat up on.
Yesterday’s meeting was filled with many folks who have worked in the cocoon of state government for much of their employment careers. Rather than look at ways to get things done, they seem to be fixated on rules, regulations, and take comfort in obsessing about dotting I’s and crossing T’s. They welcomed my introduction and brief overview of my duties with the awkwardness of a fart in church.
For my own sanity and if I have any hope of making my time in this position meaningful, I’ve adopted my boss’s mantra on tackling the tasks of my job—proceed until apprehended.
Fortunately for me, my boss appears to be a real asset. A “recovering academic” as he likes to refer to himself, from his former days as a university dean, he epitomizes what government ought to be—focused, given to results and not beholden to regulation and red tape. Having said that, I’m aware of the myriad of rules and regulations that have the potential of fencing me in and limiting my effectiveness in my current capacity.
After spending much of my first week or so being introduced to movers and shakers and people who have reputations for getting things done, I had my first taste of what I can only imagine soviet-style bureaucracy to have been like. Better, what passes for the government that so many Americans like to beat up on.
Yesterday’s meeting was filled with many folks who have worked in the cocoon of state government for much of their employment careers. Rather than look at ways to get things done, they seem to be fixated on rules, regulations, and take comfort in obsessing about dotting I’s and crossing T’s. They welcomed my introduction and brief overview of my duties with the awkwardness of a fart in church.
For my own sanity and if I have any hope of making my time in this position meaningful, I’ve adopted my boss’s mantra on tackling the tasks of my job—proceed until apprehended.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
The fog of fear and its effectiveness as an agent of control
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
--BERTRAND RUSSELL, An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish
If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living
--SENACA, The Epistles
It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.
--AUNG SAN SUU KYI, Freedom from Fear
No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.
--EDMUND BURKE, On the Sublime and Beautiful
With this week's terrorist "plot" and subsequent ratcheting up of the rhetoric of fear and talk once more or "the war on terrah," I found this interesting piece at Living With War Today.
LWW Today, August 13, 2006
by, RB Warford
LWW has been watching the news as have millions around the world. We did some research and the latest "TERROR" threat (liquid based explosives) seems to be something the US government has known about for a while and is not a really a surprise. What is surprising is the sudden interest in making people scared of this danger now.
The extreme closeness of these events and related terror alert announcements to important elections in US and voter confidence in Britain relating to Prime Minister Blair is notable. LWW has learned that the knowledge and use of these explosives by our own government and governments around the world is commonplace. Why we have not been protected by Homeland Security thus far against the possible threat of a liquid based explosive is a curiosity.
Just read the following description of Fixor, a liquid based explosive, and you too may wonder why we are just now reacting to a threat that is so obvious.
LWW has been watching the news as have millions around the world. We did some research and the latest "TERROR" threat (liquid based explosives) seems to be something the US government has known about for a while and is not a really a surprise. What is surprising is the sudden interest in making people scared of this danger now. The extreme closeness of these events and related terror alert announcements to important elections in US and voter confidence in Britain relating to Prime Minister Blair is notable. LWW has learned that the knowledge and use of these explosives by our own government and governments around the world is commonplace. Why we have not been protected by Homeland Security thus far against the possible threat of a liquid based explosive is a curiosity. Just read the following description of Fixor, a liquid based explosive, and you too may wonder why we are just now reacting to a threat that is so obvious.
FIXOR ®--
FIXOR® is a two-component explosive kit, based on a flammable liquid. It has been designed to replace the use of plastic explosives and block TNT as traditional demining and UXO explosive charges. Unlike ammonium nitrate based binary explosives and traditional explosives:
FIXOR® can be transported around the world by any method, including commercial passenger aircraft. This makes FIXOR® rapidly available to those Customers who require safe, secure, single-purpose, demolition explosives throughout the world. FIXOR® Explosive self-neutralizes after a period of time, becoming a non-explosive. This unique characteristic of FIXOR® is very important to those Customers concerned with the proliferation of explosives-based terrorist devices.
WHAT WE KNEW--
Team FIXOR® is pleased to announce that demonstrations of FIXOR® have been witnessed by EOD Specialists from the Canadian Department of National Defense, US Air Force, US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, and private EOD/Demining corporations during the past 12 months. Team FIXOR® is currently negotiating contracts with a variety of organizations around the world for the provision of FIXOR®, and we are pleased with the international response FIXOR® has received to date. MREL is committed to reducing the traditionally high costs of explosives required to safely neutralize landmines and UXO in blow-in-place EOD operations throughout the world.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW--
We don't know why a Dept of Homeland Security terror alert has now been activated as if the threat of liquid based explosives was an unforeseen threat against the world. We don't know why warnings and precautions did not take place long before the story of the arrests in Britain. Are we being mis-led? You be the decider.
--BERTRAND RUSSELL, An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish
If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living
--SENACA, The Epistles
It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.
--AUNG SAN SUU KYI, Freedom from Fear
No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.
--EDMUND BURKE, On the Sublime and Beautiful
With this week's terrorist "plot" and subsequent ratcheting up of the rhetoric of fear and talk once more or "the war on terrah," I found this interesting piece at Living With War Today.
LWW Today, August 13, 2006
by, RB Warford
LWW has been watching the news as have millions around the world. We did some research and the latest "TERROR" threat (liquid based explosives) seems to be something the US government has known about for a while and is not a really a surprise. What is surprising is the sudden interest in making people scared of this danger now.
The extreme closeness of these events and related terror alert announcements to important elections in US and voter confidence in Britain relating to Prime Minister Blair is notable. LWW has learned that the knowledge and use of these explosives by our own government and governments around the world is commonplace. Why we have not been protected by Homeland Security thus far against the possible threat of a liquid based explosive is a curiosity.
Just read the following description of Fixor, a liquid based explosive, and you too may wonder why we are just now reacting to a threat that is so obvious.
LWW has been watching the news as have millions around the world. We did some research and the latest "TERROR" threat (liquid based explosives) seems to be something the US government has known about for a while and is not a really a surprise. What is surprising is the sudden interest in making people scared of this danger now. The extreme closeness of these events and related terror alert announcements to important elections in US and voter confidence in Britain relating to Prime Minister Blair is notable. LWW has learned that the knowledge and use of these explosives by our own government and governments around the world is commonplace. Why we have not been protected by Homeland Security thus far against the possible threat of a liquid based explosive is a curiosity. Just read the following description of Fixor, a liquid based explosive, and you too may wonder why we are just now reacting to a threat that is so obvious.
FIXOR ®--
FIXOR® is a two-component explosive kit, based on a flammable liquid. It has been designed to replace the use of plastic explosives and block TNT as traditional demining and UXO explosive charges. Unlike ammonium nitrate based binary explosives and traditional explosives:
FIXOR® can be transported around the world by any method, including commercial passenger aircraft. This makes FIXOR® rapidly available to those Customers who require safe, secure, single-purpose, demolition explosives throughout the world. FIXOR® Explosive self-neutralizes after a period of time, becoming a non-explosive. This unique characteristic of FIXOR® is very important to those Customers concerned with the proliferation of explosives-based terrorist devices.
WHAT WE KNEW--
Team FIXOR® is pleased to announce that demonstrations of FIXOR® have been witnessed by EOD Specialists from the Canadian Department of National Defense, US Air Force, US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, and private EOD/Demining corporations during the past 12 months. Team FIXOR® is currently negotiating contracts with a variety of organizations around the world for the provision of FIXOR®, and we are pleased with the international response FIXOR® has received to date. MREL is committed to reducing the traditionally high costs of explosives required to safely neutralize landmines and UXO in blow-in-place EOD operations throughout the world.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW--
We don't know why a Dept of Homeland Security terror alert has now been activated as if the threat of liquid based explosives was an unforeseen threat against the world. We don't know why warnings and precautions did not take place long before the story of the arrests in Britain. Are we being mis-led? You be the decider.
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