Terrible Editorials, Opinion Pieces and Letters to the Editor

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Ogmius815: Aug 25, 2005; centrism is a hell of a drug

joeburz posted:

Because I just used ghetto latin for wall and large city street

Welp I'm dumb.

# ? Feb 2, 2014 04:16

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# ? May 28, 2024 05:02

MaxxBot: Oct 6, 2003; you could have clapped

you should have clapped!!

It's telling, although not at all surprising, that most of the articles I have posted in here are not from some horrible right-wing site but from Huffington Post. They publish some really, really awful poo poo.

Exhibit A: Gay man defending Russian anti-gay laws

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/jj-mccullough/russia-lgbt_b_4758584.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008&just_reloaded=1

quote:

Since it seems we as a nation are now incapable of consuming any news that lacks a Rob Ford connection, the fact that many of Canada's biggest cities have taken to flying rainbow flags over their city halls during the Sochi Olympics made headlines last week primarily because the Toronto mayor is against it.

Ford finds the fad offensive presumably for the same reason he finds gay pride parades offensive; he's an old-fashioned, conservative guy who gets squeamish about public flauntings of sexuality. (How exactly he squares this belief with his previously-established view that bragging about cunnilingus is an acceptable topic for a press conference remains unclear).

There's a much better reason to be skeptical of the preening movement to fly pride flags at city hall, however, and it's got nothing to do with one's view on sexuality. For what it's worth, I'm gay, and I find the whole thing distasteful, not because the global crusade for LGBT rights isn't important, but because casting the Sochi Olympics as the world's leading front in this struggle displays an appallingly sheltered lack of context and perspective on both queer rights and human rights in general.

Mayors raising the rainbow flag is the latest trendy protest against the much-despised "anti-gay laws" which passed the Russian parliament last summer, criminalizing the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors." No sooner was the ink dry on Putin's signature than gay celebs like George Takei and Stephen Fry began calling for a boycott of the Sochi games in retaliation, and it didn't take long before American gay bars were dumping vodka in the streets, European athletes were brandishing rainbow nail polish, and President Obama was vowing to include a bunch of openly gay sports stars in his country's official delegation.

The implied pretext is that the persecution of homosexuals in Russia is the worst thing the Russian government has ever done, and a unique outlier of homophobic behaviour in an otherwise civilized world.

Neither is remotely true.

A recent piece in the New York Times documenting the plight of gays in Nigeria provides a chilling window into what a genuinely homophobic society looks like. In that country, tough new laws have strengthened the criminal status of homosexuality, with punishments of up to 14 years in prison for a broad range of homosexual activities (though more "lenient" judges may merely prescribe 20 lashes with a leather whip). In the nation's heavily Muslim north, law enforcement has been arresting dozens as part of a renewed crackdown on gayness, with Amnesty International claiming some cops have compiled "a list of suspected gay people" for surveillance.

In Russia, by contrast, homosexuality has been completely legal since 1993. My Lonely Planet guidebook calls attention to Moscow's "active gay and lesbian scene," and that the Moscow Times features "articles about gay and lesbian issues as well as listings of gay and lesbian clubs." Some quick Googling turns up plenty of Russian gay tourism sites boasting lists of the hottest bars, bathhouses, and cruising parks. As many wags snarkily observed, Sochi itself even has a lively gay bar despite the dopey mayor's insistence his city is homosexual-free. Patrons of The Lighthouse, incidentally, are reported to be getting a bit tired of western journalists constantly asking if they feel oppressed.

It's similarly worth noting that Russia's recent ban on homosexual "propaganda," however odious we may find it in practice, was motivated primarily at protecting children from sexually explicit materials, and imposes fines, not jail, as punishment. The much-reported vagueness of the legislation also leaves a lot up to interpretation -- many observers saw it as a mostly symbolic way to curry populist favor in a country where the vast, vast majority still considers homosexuality moral vice (ironically, making the legislation one of the more democratic acts of Putin's Russia) and as the AP noted at the time, "most activists believe that the law will not be widely enforced" even as they remain officially suspicious. Only four have faced charges to date.

To be sure, Russia deserves protest. If I were mayor of a Canadian metropolis, I might be inclined to fly the Ukrainian flag over my city hall to protest the Putin government's brazen efforts to colonize and control that long-suffering Russian neighbour, efforts that have led to the chaotic street violence of today. Or perhaps the flag of the Free Syrian Army, in solidarity with those dying by the thousands opposing the Assad dictatorship that's actively funded, armed, and supported by Moscow. Or perhaps the flag of one of the many dissident opposition groups whose leaders have been beaten or jailed by a regime the NGO Freedom House considers one of the worst in the world when it comes to upholding its citizens' basic right to free expression and an impartial justice system.

A Canadian leader willing to take a public stance on one of those issues would be bold and courageous, but also controversial, provocative, and risky -- basically everything Canada's complacent gay rights slacktivists are not.

No member of the Canadian political class wants to stake a position on Russian democracy or foreign policy simply because such causes are neither safe, easy, or fashionable, nor do they pander to a domestic constituency as powerful and well-heeled as urban gays and their liberal allies. So instead we witness the inflation of Russia's comparatively mild "anti-gay" laws into a much larger crisis than they actually are, and at the expense of a great many issues we'd be doing the Russians (and the foreign victims of Russian policy) a much greater service in caring about.

Fifty years from now, it's easy to imagine a Russia with gay marriage, gay politicians, and even more gay clubs and bars than it has now, simply because that's very obviously the direction their society's been progressing for decades. What remains tremendously uncertain, however, is whether Russia of 2060 will be a society that's any more democratic than it is now, with an improved respect for the freedoms for its citizens, the sovereignty of its neighbours, and the importance of human rights abroad.

2014, the history books will read, was the world's moment to protest. Will Canada's mayors be confident they picked the right cause?

Oh sorry I meant "anti-gay" laws, don't want to be so mean to poor Russia :ohdear:

MaxxBot fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Feb 10, 2014

# ? Feb 10, 2014 21:15

Borneo Jimmy: Feb 27, 2007; by Smythe

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/letters/245282681.html

quote:

You�ve got to be kidding. At what point have I become responsible for feeding the neighbor kid? Children need to be taught that if they don�t have any money, they can�t eat. Now, if parents are unable to supply the minimum money for their children to eat lunch, they most likely are unable to supply their children with any type of parenting, and shouldn�t have children, or their children should be removed from them.

If you disagree, I hope that you will pay for my McDonald�s the next time I walk in without any cash.

Bret Collier, Big Lake

Thank you Bret for letting everyone know that you are human garbage.

# ? Feb 15, 2014 11:04

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Here is my vision of the cyberpunk future: Your Google Glass descendant has face recognition capabilities, and is able to connect everyone you see to automatically generated summaries of everything they've ever published under their name. You run into Bret Collier at the post office, over his head you see a Human Garbage Index score and a link to that letter.

There'll be a few idiotic things on mine, but I'm pretty sure I never said anything like that.

# ? Feb 15, 2014 14:20

woke wedding drone: Jun 1, 2003; by exmarx; Fun Shoe

quote:

You�ve got to be kidding. At what point have I become responsible for feeding the neighbor kid?

I think it was right around when mammals entered the fossil record, could be earlier though.

# ? Feb 15, 2014 16:34

Josef bugman: Nov 17, 2011; Pictured: Poster prepares to celebrate Holy Communion (probablY)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

https://medium.com/life-learning/2a1841f1335d

Would like to know the reasons why this is a piece of poo poo! Thanks in advance guys.

# ? Feb 22, 2014 00:21

Pththya-lyi: Nov 8, 2009; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2020

Pretty standard smug conservatism, really.

# ? Feb 22, 2014 00:32

Guilty Spork: Feb 26, 2011; Thunder rolled. It rolled a six.

Josef bugman posted:

https://medium.com/life-learning/2a1841f1335d

Would like to know the reasons why this is a piece of poo poo! Thanks in advance guys.

The sheer level of arrogance and aggression that permeates the whole thing is kind of amazing. "You suck because of these things I'm assuming about you. And by the way I'm awesome and would win against you at everything forever because I'm awesome."

I mean, there are people who need to read, question the world, etc. more, but being an arrogant, condescending prick is just counterproductive unless you want to be a talk radio pundit or something.

# ? Feb 22, 2014 00:57

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Guilty Spork posted:

And by the way I'm awesome

This is the recurring theme in every post on that site. I've never seen a post there that doesn't dwell on that entirely too long.

# ? Feb 22, 2014 02:53

cafel: Mar 29, 2010; This post is hurting the economy!

Josef bugman posted:

https://medium.com/life-learning/2a1841f1335d

Would like to know the reasons why this is a piece of poo poo! Thanks in advance guys.

Well skimming through it he doesn't seem to actually define what 'do something amazing in life' actually means. He has a picture of Steve Jobs, but are we supposed to aspire to his wealth? His fame? The impact his decisions had on the world and other people? Or is it something even more intangible, like having the ability to take existing technology and ideas and package it in a very appealing design? People would see the success in all or none of these categories and many more in addition as 'doing something amazing'.

Also the author is a smarmy little poo poo. When you criticizes people for not reading and then invoke reality television it invokes a poo poo head alarm in much the same way the use of the word 'sheeple' does.

# ? Feb 22, 2014 04:55

Blarghalt: May 19, 2010

I'm really amused by #7 on the list: "Because You Can�t Handle The Truth".

Anyone ever noticed that the word 'truth' is the favorite word of paranoid assholes and bible thumpers? It's almost as if it essentially translates to "take my word for it". :v:

# ? Feb 22, 2014 05:13

Pope Guilty: Nov 6, 2006; The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

Medium has Bors and Jen Sorenson, and also I think Ryan Pequin, and they're the only reasons to ever click on a Medium link.

# ? Feb 22, 2014 05:20

goodog: Nov 3, 2007

A guy writing a listicle on some Facebook Share factory is telling people to raise their literary standards. Buddy if people actually did that you'd be out of a job.

# ? Feb 23, 2014 04:56

Name Change: Oct 9, 2005

How about Friedman up in this bitch?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/o...&pgtype=article

This article is of course Friedman's typical jargon-infused, inane truism-laced hackery, written at the service of the status quo, and I almost don't want to C/P it here, but it's required for context and I wouldn't want to make this one of your ten NYtimes articles if you don't have a subscription. What really warmed my heart were the top comments, which I also included some of the best of below.

quote:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. � LAST June, in an interview with Adam Bryant of The Times, Laszlo Bock, the senior vice president of people operations for Google � i.e., the guy in charge of hiring for one of the world�s most successful companies � noted that Google had determined that �G.P.A.�s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless. ... We found that they don�t predict anything.� He also noted that the �proportion of people without any college education at Google has increased over time� � now as high as 14 percent on some teams. At a time when many people are asking, �How�s my kid gonna get a job?� I thought it would be useful to visit Google and hear how Bock would answer.

Don�t get him wrong, Bock begins, �Good grades certainly don�t hurt.� Many jobs at Google require math, computing and coding skills, so if your good grades truly reflect skills in those areas that you can apply, it would be an advantage. But Google has its eyes on much more.

�There are five hiring attributes we have across the company,� explained Bock. �If it�s a technical role, we assess your coding ability, and half the roles in the company are technical roles. For every job, though, the No. 1 thing we look for is general cognitive ability, and it�s not I.Q. It�s learning ability. It�s the ability to process on the fly. It�s the ability to pull together disparate bits of information. We assess that using structured behavioral interviews that we validate to make sure they�re predictive.�

The second, he added, �is leadership � in particular emergent leadership as opposed to traditional leadership. Traditional leadership is, were you president of the chess club? Were you vice president of sales? How quickly did you get there? We don�t care. What we care about is, when faced with a problem and you�re a member of a team, do you, at the appropriate time, step in and lead. And just as critically, do you step back and stop leading, do you let someone else? Because what�s critical to be an effective leader in this environment is you have to be willing to relinquish power.�

What else? Humility and ownership. �It�s feeling the sense of responsibility, the sense of ownership, to step in,� he said, to try to solve any problem � and the humility to step back and embrace the better ideas of others. �Your end goal,� explained Bock, �is what can we do together to problem-solve. I�ve contributed my piece, and then I step back.�

And it is not just humility in creating space for others to contribute, says Bock, it�s �intellectual humility. Without humility, you are unable to learn.� It is why research shows that many graduates from hotshot business schools plateau. �Successful bright people rarely experience failure, and so they don�t learn how to learn from that failure,� said Bock.

�They, instead, commit the fundamental attribution error, which is if something good happens, it�s because I�m a genius. If something bad happens, it�s because someone�s an idiot or I didn�t get the resources or the market moved. ... What we�ve seen is that the people who are the most successful here, who we want to hire, will have a fierce position. They�ll argue like hell. They�ll be zealots about their point of view. But then you say, �here�s a new fact,� and they�ll go, �Oh, well, that changes things; you�re right.� � You need a big ego and small ego in the same person at the same time.

The least important attribute they look for is �expertise.� Said Bock: �If you take somebody who has high cognitive ability, is innately curious, willing to learn and has emergent leadership skills, and you hire them as an H.R. person or finance person, and they have no content knowledge, and you compare them with someone who�s been doing just one thing and is a world expert, the expert will go: �I�ve seen this 100 times before; here�s what you do.� � Most of the time the nonexpert will come up with the same answer, added Bock, �because most of the time it�s not that hard.� Sure, once in a while they will mess it up, he said, but once in a while they�ll also come up with an answer that is totally new. And there is huge value in that.

To sum up Bock�s approach to hiring: Talent can come in so many different forms and be built in so many nontraditional ways today, hiring officers have to be alive to every one � besides brand-name colleges. Because �when you look at people who don�t go to school and make their way in the world, those are exceptional human beings. And we should do everything we can to find those people.� Too many colleges, he added, �don�t deliver on what they promise. You generate a ton of debt, you don�t learn the most useful things for your life. It�s [just] an extended adolescence.�

Google attracts so much talent it can afford to look beyond traditional metrics, like G.P.A. For most young people, though, going to college and doing well is still the best way to master the tools needed for many careers. But Bock is saying something important to them, too: Beware. Your degree is not a proxy for your ability to do any job. The world only cares about � and pays off on � what you can do with what you know (and it doesn�t care how you learned it). And in an age when innovation is increasingly a group endeavor, it also cares about a lot of soft skills � leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability and loving to learn and re-learn. This will be true no matter where you go to work.

quote:

Reading articles like this makes me happy to be retired. I cannot imagine being a college graduate, or dropout for that matter, trying to makes heads or tails out of this jargon laced column. What does any of it really mean? Grades matter, no they don't. Be a leader, but also a follower. Dig your heals in, but know when to back off. Have an ego, but keep it in check. Be yourself, but no too much. Yada, yada, yada.

It's as if the HR execs and consultants (Bock used to work with the consulting firm McKinsey) conspired to make what they do--hiring people for work--seem mysterious, scientific and incomprehensible. A language all of their own. I feel sorry for prospective employees who have to deal with this type of craziness. For god's sake people--it's only a job.

quote:

Get a job at Google? Can you tell us how to get a job at Goldman Sachs next? Then the New York Yankees?

How about a column about how the average person - including people at or above the median age for the nation - can get a job with some sort of security somewhere that won't suck up their entire lives?

For all the fancy blather from Mr Bock, the underlying requirement for a job at Google and almost any other successful company, or company that wants to be successful, is to be a young (male) person who is willing to devote their lives to their jobs until their employer doesn't need them anymore and they can be tossed aside.

Then, when burnt out at 30, they better hope that the next company doesn't say "Google? We never hire anyone who worked at Google. They're arrogant and start every sentence with 'At Google we would..' instead of just doing what we ask them to do."

quote:

Mr. Friedman I have to say that reading this stuff makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I am trying to figure out how we were able to develop mass communication, mass transportation, send a man to the moon, develop MRI technology, genetic manipulation (the list goes on and on) without having the insight that our modern search and social network companies posses in how to hire talented workers. The scale of what Google and Facebook have developed is dwarfed by the transistor. I am baffled by this continuing moonstruck awe with firms like Google. They are preaching a warmed over "plum pudding" model of the universe.

quote:

As ever, this piece reads like one of those ghastly self-help books that seem to fascinate Americans. Lots of contradictory advice designed to make people hysterical. Lead and be humble. Great. Own and step back. It's just nonsense.

quote:

do you ever get tired of being the spokesperson of this neo-technological fetishism that is slowly sucking every last good vestige out of our society?

# ? Feb 27, 2014 01:46

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

OneThousandMonkeys posted:

How about Friedman up in this bitch?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/o...&pgtype=article

This article is of course Friedman's typical jargon-infused, inane truism-laced hackery, written at the service of the status quo, and I almost don't want to C/P it here, but it's required for context and I wouldn't want to make this one of your ten NYtimes articles if you don't have a subscription. What really warmed my heart were the top comments, which I also included some of the best of below.

Oh man, I can't wait to read Alex Pareene's column tomorrow. Fisking Friedman is his favorite thing and he's so good at it.

Also that first sentence has like 15 punctuation marks, jesus christ.

# ? Feb 27, 2014 05:37

woke wedding drone: Jun 1, 2003; by exmarx; Fun Shoe

That's actually a weirdly coherent article for Friedman, probably because most of it is quoting Bock verbatim. I think Friedman is one of the world's most worthless people (the most worthless person on Earth is Viktor Yanukovych according to his own party :allears:

) but even a broken clock quotes the right fish in the sea once in a blue moon.

# ? Feb 27, 2014 06:05

cafel: Mar 29, 2010; This post is hurting the economy!

SedanChair posted:

That's actually a weirdly coherent article for Friedman, probably because most of it is quoting Bock verbatim. I think Friedman is one of the world's most worthless people (the most worthless person on Earth is Viktor Yanukovych according to his own party ) but even a broken clock quotes the right fish in the sea once in a blue moon.

I could have written this article, last week I spoke with the head of a tech company that said pretty much the exact same thing. I could have put quotation marks around it and I'd have accepted half of whatever they paid Friedman to do it.

# ? Feb 27, 2014 06:10

woke wedding drone: Jun 1, 2003; by exmarx; Fun Shoe

Of course you could have, a chimp could have. But how full would that chimp's mustache have been?

# ? Feb 27, 2014 06:25

Name Change: Oct 9, 2005

I mainly get a kick out of Friedman's hackery being so well-known that most of the top comments are roasting him, sometimes with references to his favorite pieces of empty rhetoric, since he's the editorial equivalent of the political cartoonist who re-uses as much of his old artwork as possible.

Google is as ever special, Google has its own hiring standards (wow!), and most importantly, Google will magically pick you out of the haystack because they will recognize what you already know, which is that you're special despite your resume. The thrust of this is eerily similar to how con artists work on people.

# ? Feb 27, 2014 09:29

cafel: Mar 29, 2010; This post is hurting the economy!

OneThousandMonkeys posted:

I mainly get a kick out of Friedman's hackery being so well-known that most of the top comments are roasting him, sometimes with references to his favorite pieces of empty rhetoric, since he's the editorial equivalent of the political cartoonist who re-uses as much of his old artwork as possible.

Google is as ever special, Google has its own hiring standards (wow!), and most importantly, Google will magically pick you out of the haystack because they will recognize what you already know, which is that you're special despite your resume. The thrust of this is eerily similar to how con artists work on people.

Eh, Friedman kind of smothers it, but the point in this philosophy of hiring is less that you're a special snowflake and more they prefer to throw people into high pressure situations in order to see how they respond. If you approach it with a level of insanity that suggest they can wring the creative juices out of you and enough competence that those juices will be worth something, they'll hirer you. Trying to judge people just off their resumes won't tell you if they're willing to live in their office for weeks on end, which is what these tech companies need to maintain their edge.

Of course Friedman thinks this is gee whiz cool and I think it's a kind of soul crushing hell that people should seriously consider never entering, so even if he actually got down to the core of the issue I'm sure it would still be a terrible article, only in a different way.

# ? Feb 27, 2014 09:37

Mo_Steel: Mar 7, 2008; Let's Clock Into The Sunset Together; Fun Shoe

On the Sunday edition of the Star Tribune, the front and center image was this one:

"Tyler Bieniek returned from a three day National Guard service weekend Sunday afternoon, February 9, 2014. He was welcomed home by his husband, Thom, and their two dogs when he stepped inside their Sartell home."

The article was a piece about same-sex marriages in Minnesota after the recent fight to allow them, but that's not the point.
The point is THEM GAYS ARE KISSIN' ON THE FRONT OF THE PAPER!

quote:

Page 1 photo of kiss was offensive, disrespectful

Once again the Star Tribune delivers a stick in the eye to conservative Christians. On Sunday morning, a day of importance to believing Christians, the picture on the front page, above the fold, was of two men kissing (�State confronts profound change from gay marriage,� March 2). That is repugnant to me and to other people who believe that homosexual activity is morally wrong. Do you care if we are offended? Apparently not. Somehow, our beliefs must be disrespected, especially on a Sunday morning.

Kathleen Schoenfelder, Winsted, Minn.

Repugnant and offensive to my morality, a gay married couple is kissing and you took a picture and put it ion the front of the paper on THE LORDS DAY. :byodame:

quote:

That picture does little to advance the LGTB cause. I am accepting of alternative lifestyles and in favor of equal rights, but this �in your face� photo only leads to greater polarization. Biologically and culturally, this behavior is abnormal. And, despite your best intentions, it will probably remain so.

Charlie Corcoran, Stillwater

Expressions of affection in public are biologically and culturally abnormal when they are between same sexes and this sort of provcative display of what I assume is gay sex is wrong.

quote:

Let me be clear. I agree that in our society people can choose whatever lifestyle they like, even if their decision is clearly morally and biblically wrong. But the Star Tribune could have run the story without such a picture, and I would have looked at it as just another liberal story from the same liberal newspaper, and I probably could have left it at that. Instead, the editors chose to print a picture that would unquestionably be offensive to a certain number of readers. What is even more disappointing to me is that if there were a different picture that might clearly be offensive to a different group of readers, the editors likely would not have printed it.

DALE SMITH, Cambridge, Minn.

I'm not upset with homos choosing a clearly morally and biblically wrong lifestyle, I'm upset with a newspaper printing things that "a certain number of readers" might find offensive. No seriously guys, queers are hunky dory, but showing queers is unacceptable.

--

In fairness there were some positive letters:

quote:

Despite cries from readers that indicate otherwise (Readers Write, March 4), a Sunday cover photo of a married couple sharing a moment of affection in 2014 is rather ordinary (�State confronts profound change from gay marriage,� March 2). If that�s an act you find repulsive or abnormal, that�s all on you.

BEAU LARSON, Minneapolis

Regarding the picture in Sunday�s paper of the soldier and his partner: I think anyone serving our country in the military and putting his or her life on the line is entitled to show a public display of their affection to the person he or she loves. There is nothing to be ashamed of.

CHARLES D. NOVAK, Minneapolis

Has anyone spoofed the old black and white sailor-kissing-girl image with two guys yet?

Mo_Steel fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Mar 5, 2014

# ? Mar 5, 2014 22:36

Bubbacub: Apr 17, 2001

Mo_Steel posted:

Has anyone spoofed the old black and white sailor-kissing-girl image with two guys yet?

Bad example there. The sailor was drunk and the girl was basically being assaulted.

# ? Mar 5, 2014 22:57

Perestroika: Apr 8, 2010

Mo_Steel posted:

Has anyone spoofed the old black and white sailor-kissing-girl image with two guys yet?

Not black and white and not dudes, but there's always this one:

# ? Mar 5, 2014 23:19

Caros: May 14, 2008

From the 2009 Watchmen movie opening. Sorry about the meme but I'm too lazy to find a better shot.

# ? Mar 5, 2014 23:22

Teriyaki Hairpiece: Dec 29, 2006; I'm nae the voice o' the darkened thistle, but th' darkened thistle cannae bear the sight o' our Bonnie Prince Bernie nae mair.

I love the guy's thought process in this letter.

No need to raise taxes for good roads

quote:

Delaware doesn't need to raise the gas tax to pay for road improvements.

The state already has the money; we just need fiscally responsible politicians to recover it.

Polls show that Americans believe governments at all levels waste from 38 cents to 51 cents of every dollar spent.

If the state of Delaware wastes "only" 25 cents of every dollar spent, then one-quarter of the state budget is wasted.

And if the state budget for 2104 is $3.8 billion, Delaware will waste $95 million, more than enough to pay for the road improvements, and a tax cut to boot, all in just one year.

Delaware doesn't have an income problem; Delaware has a huge spending and waste problem. Are there any fiscally responsible politicians in the state?

Peter Dietz

Wilmington

# ? Mar 6, 2014 23:49

Mo_Steel: Mar 7, 2008; Let's Clock Into The Sunset Together; Fun Shoe

So that guy is an actual example of someone believing this:

Simply astounding.

# ? Mar 6, 2014 23:57

boner confessor: Apr 25, 2013; by R. Guyovich

He's right, the US government is like a gushing uncapped well of funding and subsidies to middle class white Americans. A Good Sign.

# ? Mar 7, 2014 00:02

Mr. Funny Pants: Apr 9, 2001

You have to give him credit for sourcing. Where better to get an accurate figure for fraud and waste in government than, "Americans"?

# ? Mar 7, 2014 00:06

ErIog: Jul 11, 2001

Mo_Steel posted:

So that guy is an actual example of someone believing this:

Simply astounding.

Is that someone unironically calling police officers welfare queens? Is there supposed to be a joke there? In what context was this originally posted?

I'm dumbfounded... right wingers are usually never consistent enough about their stated beliefs to call for cutting police/military... because what's fascism without a wehrmacht and accompanying police state.

# ? Mar 7, 2014 01:11

PeterWeller: Apr 21, 2003; I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

ErIog posted:

Is that someone unironically calling police officers welfare queens? Is there supposed to be a joke there? In what context was this originally posted?

I'm dumbfounded... right wingers are usually never consistent enough about their stated beliefs to call for cutting police/military... because what's fascism without a wehrmacht and accompanying police state.

The joke is she doesn't realize taxes pay for police.

# ? Mar 7, 2014 01:14

Ian McLean: Sep 9, 2012; statpedia.org
Post Stats on Anything

Somebody fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Mar 7, 2014

# ? Mar 7, 2014 04:02

pig slut lisa: Mar 5, 2012; irl is good

cheerfullydrab posted:

I love the guy's thought process in this letter.

No need to raise taxes for good roads

It's a dumb letter, but it's definitely the case that this country is waaaayyyy overinvested in road infrastructure. Now granted, much of the problem comes from a persistent legislative hardon for funding new projects at the expense of maintenance programs. But many states and communities have simply overextended their road obligations (too many lane miles and overly wide lanes, not to mention miles and miles of curb parking). The sprawliest communities are already starting to disinvest; I have no doubt we'll see more of this in the future.

-----

From my newspaper, a pretty toothless (both in terms of its effect and its author) rant:

Get off my lawn posted:

With my granddaughter's birthday right around the corner, I decided to head to Market Place Mall for a gift. Upon my arrival, I couldn't help but see a giant freak show.

Let me explain. I saw facial piercings and tattoos that startled me. I saw jeans riding below several people's butt cheeks, exposing their underwear, which would fall down to the floor if they were not holding their crotch. I spotted a policewoman looking at the same view but didn't seem concerned. Is indecent exposure a thing of the past, or is it a law? A few $50 tickets would stop that dress behavior real quick.

As for the other freaks, I don't think that is what your parents meant when they said to be yourself. If you want to be different, do it in a way that betters yourself and those around you.

Please tell me who would hire them other than a minimum-wage, out-of-sight-out-of-mind job.

# ? Mar 7, 2014 05:21

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

pig slut lisa posted:

It's a dumb letter, but it's definitely the case that this country is waaaayyyy overinvested in road infrastructure. Now granted, much of the problem comes from a persistent legislative hardon for funding new projects at the expense of maintenance programs. But many states and communities have simply overextended their road obligations (too many lane miles and overly wide lanes, not to mention miles and miles of curb parking). The sprawliest communities are already starting to disinvest; I have no doubt we'll see more of this in the future.

What I think is hilarious is communities in the Southwest tearing up and resurfacing their roads every time they start cracking, when most of them could leave them that way for 50 years and they'd never get any worse. I attribute it to people from pothole states moving in and freaking out when their street starts cracking, not realizing the soil under their street (which the asphalt was likely laid on directly with no additional roadbed) is so goddamned hard that they'll see a pothole approximately never.

# ? Mar 7, 2014 05:33

constantIllusion: Feb 16, 2010

pig slut lisa posted:

From my newspaper, a pretty toothless (both in terms of its effect and its author) rant:

I've always wondered why people like that think that no one who has tattoos and piercings, or who wears baggy clothing, ever works. It's like in their minds that only people who wear polo shirts and khakis as casual wear are gainfully employed.

# ? Mar 7, 2014 08:14

Pope Guilty: Nov 6, 2006; The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

constantIllusion posted:

I've always wondered why people like that think that no one who has tattoos and piercings, or who wears baggy clothing, ever works. It's like in their minds that only people who wear polo shirts and khakis as casual wear are gainfully employed.

Because aesthetic cultural markers are more important to a lot of people than basic sense.

# ? Mar 7, 2014 08:35

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Minimum wage jobs are usually not out-of-sight-out-of-mind; they're loving retail.

# ? Mar 7, 2014 09:21

Opposing Farce: Apr 1, 2010; Ever since our drop-off service, I never read a book.
There's always something else around, plus I owe the library nineteen bucks.

cheerfullydrab posted:

I love the guy's thought process in this letter.

No need to raise taxes for good roads

I love that he presents "Americans think the government wastes 50 cents on every dollar" as though that belief makes it true. There's some kind of dark urban fantasy/sci-fi novel about statistics being powered by human belief in here.

# ? Mar 8, 2014 09:04

Mo_Steel: Mar 7, 2008; Let's Clock Into The Sunset Together; Fun Shoe

Opposing Farce posted:

I love that he presents "Americans think the government wastes 50 cents on every dollar" as though that belief makes it true. There's some kind of dark urban fantasy/sci-fi novel about statistics being powered by human belief in here.

"poo poo man, he's got a hostage, he's gonna get away!"
'I'm taking the shot.'
"Are you insane? You've got a handgun and you're 50 yards away, with unpredictable winds and a hostage in the way, this is a 1-in-a-million shot we're talking about!"
'I don't think so... looks like a 100% chance of hitting the mark to me.'
*BLAM*

Mark Wahlberg stars in: Good Odds

# ? Mar 8, 2014 14:18

Vorpal Cat: Mar 19, 2009; Oh god what did I just post?

Opposing Farce posted:

I love that he presents "Americans think the government wastes 50 cents on every dollar" as though that belief makes it true. There's some kind of dark urban fantasy/sci-fi novel about statistics being powered by human belief in here.

Dear god planes would turn into flying death traps, and lotteries would collapse as hundreds of thousands won every jackpot. People are so useless with statistics the would would turn into some kind of post apocalyptic nightmare within weeks. We're talking about a species that is regulatory stumped by the Monty Hall problem without formal training.

# ? Mar 8, 2014 17:30

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# ? May 28, 2024 05:02

Mo_Steel: Mar 7, 2008; Let's Clock Into The Sunset Together; Fun Shoe

If you ever need an example of crab mentality in action, allow me to present you this OP Ed piece in the MN Star Tribune:

quote:

It�s odd being the working poor serving the truly poor in a poor neighborhood.

Many customers at my east St. Paul Target rely on food stamps (aka SNAP benefits). When the cash register spits out a receipt after a food purchase (Mmm! Steak fillets!), it shows a customer�s SNAP balance. It�s not unusual to see a balance into the hundreds of dollars.

Oh, how I envy her! Oh, how I love steak fillets!

After a succession of excellent job reviews, I�ve been able to cobble together a $9.94 wage after more than six years of all-hours, part-time service to the well-known Minneapolis retailer. I�ve advanced in responsibility from the cashier�s lane to the customer service desk, and from head cashier to a non-tipped Starbucks barista. Yet, like some of my fellow working poor, I have envy not for the multimillionaire rich like my own store�s CEO, but for the real poor, who seem to prosper through social services and tax credits.

My annual review is imminent, and I fear that with one more raise, I�m going to lose the hundred and change I garner each year from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). If only I were truly poor!

The working poor at my Target cover the race, gender, age and education gamut. There�s a handful of young team members who already have a degree of sorts, but can�t find work in their fields. Bernice, with a husband and a baby, is studying online for a criminal justice degree. Mary is not 18 yet and is shaping her work skills. Jane works only as a cashier and relies entirely on her income at Target to pay rent and bills. Rick is returning to Target to work as a cart attendant, but he plans to hold onto his cab. He says he needs a predictable income.

Lindsey, a 30ish single mother who has worked here since she was a teen, closely monitors the hours she works to maximize her social aid. If she works too much, her total net worth drops.

As the old timer at 60, I am just trying to hold the fort until Social Security at 62.

There�s a predictable bump in business at my Target on the first of every month. Welfare and Social Security benefits arrive, and carts brim with food and notions. But starting in February, federal tax benefits become available. For the poor, especially those with kids, this is Christmas � tax time means the biggest check of the year. Television sets fly off the shelves. Recently, a mother beamed with pride when she was able to buy her 9-year-old son a pricey Xbox controller and a copy of �Call of Duty,� paying for it with a swipe from her H&R Block prepaid debit card.

And I was envious.

All of us at the grunt level at Target would benefit from a raise in the minimum wage, and a bump in the EITC, as well. Still, let�s not get too exuberant. Suddenly making $10 or so an hour isn�t going to prompt many to look at buying a house in Woodbury. But it will allow many to spend something to find out why their car is leaking oil or to make more than a minimum payment on a credit card they�ve relied on to live. An enhanced EITC would allow many working poor to cushion the seasonal reduction in hours and smaller paychecks after December.

Few businesses that rely on low-cost labor would be put at a competitive disadvantage with a higher minimum wage. Customers would barely feel the effect of higher labor costs, be it in the cost of a hamburger or a pair of socks. It would, however, build employee fealty.

But more important, raising the minimum wage is the ethical thing to do. Author Barbara Ehrenreich touched on this years ago in her book �Nickel and Dimed.�

Low-wage workers work like dogs. Pity especially the cart attendant when the walkie-talkie calls him to the restrooms for a �Code Brown.� When economic reports celebrate a rise in worker productivity, it�s a euphemism for grunts like us being asked to do impossibly more in the same period of time with less backup.

There�s a motivational poster near the break room featuring the retail giant’s trademark dog and this aphorism: �Work can be fun or not fun � Choose Fun.� Every time I see this, I imagine it pinned up in the Roman slave galley where Ben Hur is rowing furiously to the beat of the drum and the lash of the whip. Only his hate kept him alive.

It�s unnatural to aspire to be poor in order to eke out a living. Reward work. Raise the wage.

Emphasis mine. I sympathize with the author on the subject of the working poor being ground into paste by employers, but the being an unemployed "truly poor" isn't an enviable position and arguing it is makes me think he is ignorant or lacks any sense of empathy. I'm tempted to respond but I need to find the right tone and think it over first.

Also, to vent: Confirmation bias is a bitch. He talks about how the first of the month there's a bump in business because of benefits going out. Just one problem: SNAP in MN is issued from the 4th to the 13th of each month by case number, MFIP (Minnesota's program for TANF) sends out benefits on either the second to last or last day of the previous month depending on case number, and SSI is paid on the second, third or fourth Wednesday of each month depending on birth date. It wouldn't surprise me if "the predictable bump" indistinguishable from background noise if you're looking at store level sales statements.

Mo_Steel fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Mar 9, 2014

# ? Mar 9, 2014 01:28

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Terrible Editorials, Opinion Pieces and Letters to the Editor

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