building the margins
Monday, December 27, 2004
beware the scruffy man seeking truth
Apparently drug corporations (and other health-care related corps) are warning their employees to be afraid (be very afraid) if a large scruffy-looking man wearing a baseball cap approaches them.
This man is potentially armed with a video camera (or similar equipment which might record any remarks or moves company employees might make) and could be extremely dangerous to the bottom line of corporations which depend upon the blissful ignorance of average citizens and wage slaves in order to extract large sums of money for overpaid executives.
If you should happen to run across this man do not, I repeat, DO NOT attempt to answer any questions he may have, particularly if you are in the upper echelons of management.
Refer him to the PR person at your company so that he or she may issue a suitably innocuous statement about how the company is doing their part to save the world at great expense, and so what if some employees get paid ridiculous amounts of money for approving drugs which might happen to kill a few people? Or for not paying for certain procedures because it just doesn't fit with the company's bottom line? Or for driving up the cost of healthcare so that millions of American kids can't afford to see a doctor?
I mean, corporate executives are people too, and they deserve to get as rich off the backs of unsuspecting Americans as the executives in the oil business, or any other good, wholesome, capitalist enterprise.
Right?
¶ 10:40 AM 4 comments
Apparently drug corporations (and other health-care related corps) are warning their employees to be afraid (be very afraid) if a large scruffy-looking man wearing a baseball cap approaches them.
This man is potentially armed with a video camera (or similar equipment which might record any remarks or moves company employees might make) and could be extremely dangerous to the bottom line of corporations which depend upon the blissful ignorance of average citizens and wage slaves in order to extract large sums of money for overpaid executives.
If you should happen to run across this man do not, I repeat, DO NOT attempt to answer any questions he may have, particularly if you are in the upper echelons of management.
Refer him to the PR person at your company so that he or she may issue a suitably innocuous statement about how the company is doing their part to save the world at great expense, and so what if some employees get paid ridiculous amounts of money for approving drugs which might happen to kill a few people? Or for not paying for certain procedures because it just doesn't fit with the company's bottom line? Or for driving up the cost of healthcare so that millions of American kids can't afford to see a doctor?
I mean, corporate executives are people too, and they deserve to get as rich off the backs of unsuspecting Americans as the executives in the oil business, or any other good, wholesome, capitalist enterprise.
Right?
¶ 10:40 AM 4 comments
Thursday, December 23, 2004
holiday orgies and failed negotiations
I haven't posted in about 2 weeks, due to a combination of holiday madness and political frustration.
I'm not travelling for Christmas this year so I spent much of the past 3 weeks getting presents ready to send to family members. Now, I really do enjoy giving presents to people, but the amount of time spent preparing for the holidays is just ridiculous. I don't even have a very big list of people to shop or make presents for, but every year I find that much of December is taken up by all the holiday prep.
Personally, I'd prefer to just have the holiday season with gifts every other year. Of course, our economy is now so dependent upon the rampant consumerism of the yearly holiday orgy that only having a gift-giving holiday season every other year would never fly.
One of the nicest parts of the holidays this year was a solstice party at the home of some good friends. About 20 of us got together, shared a meal, drank some nog, had some great conversations, and celebrated the start of winter. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the season, and no orgy of consumerism was necessary.
The other reason for my blogging hiatus is that the news everyday has contained more and more stories of US soldiers killed and wounded in Bu$h's war, which just makes me more and more outraged that the Misleader in Chief started this voluntary war in the first place.
Perhaps if he had negotiated with himself more before he chose to start this war, his true Christian self -- the one that actually tries to act like a follower of Jesus -- would have won out over the greedy, scared, fundamentalist self.
¶ 10:10 AM 1 comments
I haven't posted in about 2 weeks, due to a combination of holiday madness and political frustration.
I'm not travelling for Christmas this year so I spent much of the past 3 weeks getting presents ready to send to family members. Now, I really do enjoy giving presents to people, but the amount of time spent preparing for the holidays is just ridiculous. I don't even have a very big list of people to shop or make presents for, but every year I find that much of December is taken up by all the holiday prep.
Personally, I'd prefer to just have the holiday season with gifts every other year. Of course, our economy is now so dependent upon the rampant consumerism of the yearly holiday orgy that only having a gift-giving holiday season every other year would never fly.
One of the nicest parts of the holidays this year was a solstice party at the home of some good friends. About 20 of us got together, shared a meal, drank some nog, had some great conversations, and celebrated the start of winter. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the season, and no orgy of consumerism was necessary.
The other reason for my blogging hiatus is that the news everyday has contained more and more stories of US soldiers killed and wounded in Bu$h's war, which just makes me more and more outraged that the Misleader in Chief started this voluntary war in the first place.
Perhaps if he had negotiated with himself more before he chose to start this war, his true Christian self -- the one that actually tries to act like a follower of Jesus -- would have won out over the greedy, scared, fundamentalist self.
¶ 10:10 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
into the closet with ye
Proving once again why it's good to live in Oregon, Alabama State Representative Gerald Allen recently introduced a bill which would ban books with gay characters from school and university libraries.
But Mr. Allen didn't advocate burning the books. (Perhaps he was worried about global warming - no wait, he probably doesn't want that taught in schools either, along with evolution, or the proper way to use a condom.) Instead, he suggesting dumping them in a hole.
Maybe he and all of his homophobic ilk should dig a really large hole and jump in it themselves. Or better yet - go find a bridge to live under so they can clearly be identified as the trolls that they are.
¶ 8:14 PM 3 comments
Proving once again why it's good to live in Oregon, Alabama State Representative Gerald Allen recently introduced a bill which would ban books with gay characters from school and university libraries.
But Mr. Allen didn't advocate burning the books. (Perhaps he was worried about global warming - no wait, he probably doesn't want that taught in schools either, along with evolution, or the proper way to use a condom.) Instead, he suggesting dumping them in a hole.
Maybe he and all of his homophobic ilk should dig a really large hole and jump in it themselves. Or better yet - go find a bridge to live under so they can clearly be identified as the trolls that they are.
¶ 8:14 PM 3 comments
remind me again: which mission did we accomplish?
was it the mission to become embroiled in a quagmire that we created when we chose to attack a sovereign nation?
was it the mission to insure that over a thousand American soldiers would lose their lives in an elective war?
was it the mission that nearly 10,000 American soldiers would be wounded so that we have cheap access to Iraqi oil and access to Iraqi citizens as a market for exported US products?
was it the mission to reduce the population of Iraqi citizens by the 10's of thousands, but not to keep track because they are just not worth it?
Was it the mission to train our soldiers to kill Iraqi civilians?
was it the mission to encourage our troops to lose faith in the idea that their government would only send them to a justifiable war?
was it the mission to send our soldiers into battle to learn how to MacGyver their way through hostile territory?
We've certainly accomplished all of that, and much more along the same lines...
Does Bu$h actually get any sleep at night? Or does he sleep like a baby because he managed to drown his conscience during the years he was boozing and snorting while real men fought in Vietnam?
Every time I see a story on the news about yet another soldier (with a wife and young child) who was killed in Iraq, I feel absolutely sick. There is no reason for any of these Americans to have died. Until Bu$h sends Jenna and Barbara over to Iraq to fight his war, he just won't get how arrogant it was to do this to our troops (not to mention the Iraqi citizens who didn't ask for an American invasion.)
I continue to be ashamed that Bu$h is the face of America that the world has to see. Especially because his continued presence in the White House can only lead citizens of other countries to believe (perhaps rightly so) that the slim majority of Americans are shortsighted, greedy and immoral.
¶ 8:05 PM 0 comments
was it the mission to become embroiled in a quagmire that we created when we chose to attack a sovereign nation?
was it the mission to insure that over a thousand American soldiers would lose their lives in an elective war?
was it the mission that nearly 10,000 American soldiers would be wounded so that we have cheap access to Iraqi oil and access to Iraqi citizens as a market for exported US products?
was it the mission to reduce the population of Iraqi citizens by the 10's of thousands, but not to keep track because they are just not worth it?
Was it the mission to train our soldiers to kill Iraqi civilians?
was it the mission to encourage our troops to lose faith in the idea that their government would only send them to a justifiable war?
was it the mission to send our soldiers into battle to learn how to MacGyver their way through hostile territory?
We've certainly accomplished all of that, and much more along the same lines...
Does Bu$h actually get any sleep at night? Or does he sleep like a baby because he managed to drown his conscience during the years he was boozing and snorting while real men fought in Vietnam?
Every time I see a story on the news about yet another soldier (with a wife and young child) who was killed in Iraq, I feel absolutely sick. There is no reason for any of these Americans to have died. Until Bu$h sends Jenna and Barbara over to Iraq to fight his war, he just won't get how arrogant it was to do this to our troops (not to mention the Iraqi citizens who didn't ask for an American invasion.)
I continue to be ashamed that Bu$h is the face of America that the world has to see. Especially because his continued presence in the White House can only lead citizens of other countries to believe (perhaps rightly so) that the slim majority of Americans are shortsighted, greedy and immoral.
¶ 8:05 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
wild goose chase
Thanks to Metroblogging Portland for leading me to the Nose's column in Willamette Week.
The Nose exactly expressed the sentiments I was feeling upon reading about some animal righties' protest of several local restaurants last week... shouldn't they be picking on some larger targets?
... so Higgins Restaurant (and a few others) had foie gras on the menu... I'm sure that Greg Higgins has done more to promote local and sustainable agriculture in the Portland metro area than any of the fundamentalist foodies who protested his restaurant's menu choices.
As the Nose pointed out, it seems ridiculous for the activists to target restaurants that are trying to do the right thing by supporting local farmers as much as possible.
By going after small local businesses, they aren't making a difference - they are merely punishing small, local businesses. If they really wanted to make a difference they should go after the large chain supermarkets that have all kinds of meat on their shelves that was raised less humanely than a few geese who gave their livers for some Portland diners.
Or maybe they could volunteer some time and money to help buy organic food for all the low-income families in Portland who can't afford anything but the gmo, corn syrup and pesticide-filled crap that passes for food in most supermarkets.
The problem is not small restaurants serving foie gras. The problem is corporate control of agriculture and our food systems.
Go protest that.
¶ 2:05 PM 2 comments
Thanks to Metroblogging Portland for leading me to the Nose's column in Willamette Week.
The Nose exactly expressed the sentiments I was feeling upon reading about some animal righties' protest of several local restaurants last week... shouldn't they be picking on some larger targets?
... so Higgins Restaurant (and a few others) had foie gras on the menu... I'm sure that Greg Higgins has done more to promote local and sustainable agriculture in the Portland metro area than any of the fundamentalist foodies who protested his restaurant's menu choices.
As the Nose pointed out, it seems ridiculous for the activists to target restaurants that are trying to do the right thing by supporting local farmers as much as possible.
They could be picketing Safeway or Sysco, demanding that the super-grocer and restaurant mega-supplier encourage more environmentally friendly farming. They could be haranguing Portland Public Schools to make sure low-income kids get decent food on their cafeteria platters. They could agitate in Salem to save the small farms that will likely become subdivisions under that dumbass new land-use law.
By going after small local businesses, they aren't making a difference - they are merely punishing small, local businesses. If they really wanted to make a difference they should go after the large chain supermarkets that have all kinds of meat on their shelves that was raised less humanely than a few geese who gave their livers for some Portland diners.
Or maybe they could volunteer some time and money to help buy organic food for all the low-income families in Portland who can't afford anything but the gmo, corn syrup and pesticide-filled crap that passes for food in most supermarkets.
The problem is not small restaurants serving foie gras. The problem is corporate control of agriculture and our food systems.
Go protest that.
¶ 2:05 PM 2 comments
as arrogant as we wanna be
Bu$h condemns "cultural condescension" in the Middle East...but uses it on Canadians? In Nova Scotia today, Bush apparently decided that 3 years was a long enough to wait before thanking Canadians for their kindness to stranded Americans on 9/11/01. This struck me as absurd for several reasons.
First of all, perhaps Barbara never talked with her sons about the appropriate time frame for thank yous, but 3 years certainly seems excessive.
Second, it smells to me like another administrative use of the tragedy of 9/11 to gain political points with an ally that we're fonding of walking all over whenever it suits us.
Third, for the prez to tote Canadians' nice treatment of Americans on 9/11 seems pretty damn condescending. What - did he think they would just leave stranded Americans to sit on the curbs and wait for the planes to start running again to whisk them away from a land of meanies? Of course they helped, just as we would have helped them.
From what I can tell, Bush visited Canada primarily to try to get more money out of them for Iraq, and maybe to try to convince sceptical Canadians that he's a good guy. When that didn't go as he had hoped, he refused to give any American concessions regarding trade disputes about lumber, cattle, and other issues.
Maybe Air Force One should have the slogan "as arrogant as we wanna be" painted on the side. Just in case there was any doubt of the prez's modus operandi.
Some people were advocating for Bu$h to be indicted for war crimes, but seeing as how America is the unelected policeman of the world, that probably is unlikely to happen. Heck, you want us to follow international laws? Just try and make us...
¶ 10:21 AM 0 comments
Bu$h condemns "cultural condescension" in the Middle East...but uses it on Canadians? In Nova Scotia today, Bush apparently decided that 3 years was a long enough to wait before thanking Canadians for their kindness to stranded Americans on 9/11/01. This struck me as absurd for several reasons.
First of all, perhaps Barbara never talked with her sons about the appropriate time frame for thank yous, but 3 years certainly seems excessive.
Second, it smells to me like another administrative use of the tragedy of 9/11 to gain political points with an ally that we're fonding of walking all over whenever it suits us.
Third, for the prez to tote Canadians' nice treatment of Americans on 9/11 seems pretty damn condescending. What - did he think they would just leave stranded Americans to sit on the curbs and wait for the planes to start running again to whisk them away from a land of meanies? Of course they helped, just as we would have helped them.
From what I can tell, Bush visited Canada primarily to try to get more money out of them for Iraq, and maybe to try to convince sceptical Canadians that he's a good guy. When that didn't go as he had hoped, he refused to give any American concessions regarding trade disputes about lumber, cattle, and other issues.
Maybe Air Force One should have the slogan "as arrogant as we wanna be" painted on the side. Just in case there was any doubt of the prez's modus operandi.
Some people were advocating for Bu$h to be indicted for war crimes, but seeing as how America is the unelected policeman of the world, that probably is unlikely to happen. Heck, you want us to follow international laws? Just try and make us...
¶ 10:21 AM 0 comments
