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I heard a really great definition of politics this morning on NPR, “Politics is about controlling the flow of money.”
Politics is, of course, about power. Frequently the flow of money is what it comes down to. Those in power receive more resources or are taxed less, and those who are not in power receive fewer resources or more of the burden.
There is a lot of good advice in this short article, 19 Words That Will Make People Like You More. There is one section that struck me most vividly as it has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time now. From the article:
“Words No. 3 and 4: “You’re welcome.”
Sometime in fairly recent history it seems people stopped saying, “You’re welcome,” and started substituting, “Yep,” or, “No problem.” At the risk of sounding older than I am, I think this is a step in the wrong direction–at least in a business or professional setting.
Why? Because ditching “you’re welcome” for these other phrases changes the message. “You’re welcome” acknowledges that you’ve done something worth someone else’s thanks, while “no problem” suggests that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Saying the former phrase conveys that you think it was a worthwhile favor. That’s an impressive message to send.”
I first started noticing this phenomenon on NPR. The interviewer would say to interviewee, Continue reading “Damn it, you’re welcome”
Bad for business… Good for business… Two terms that one hears quite often. We apparently need business to some extent to meet our daily needs. The unfortunate aspect of business is that to a large extent it is based on the profit motive which often translates into unbridled greed. The way businesses and corporations are structured in this country it tends to shield individuals from most responsibility for less than desirable actions. A familiar buzz phrase is “corporate citizen” which in my mind is the paradigm for explaining what an oxymoron is.
When I hear something is bad for business it generally grates on my nerves. It frequently is a case of the tail wagging the dog. In this country, businesses and corporations have garnered more than their fair share of wealth. This wealth has bought politicians and who knows whom else. This wealth has managed to change the laws to shield and benefit these legal fictions. It has reached the point that if Lincoln was giving the Gettysburg Address today, his closing would read “and that government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations, shall not perish from the Congress.”
What started me down this well trodden path again was a news story this morning on NPR. It was reported that “Louisiana’s coast is disappearing at the rate of about a football field an hour. Since the 1930s, the Gulf of Mexico has swallowed up an area the size of Delaware.”
Many folks allege that this erosion of the wetlands that provide a buffer between hurricanes and New Orleans is the responsibility of the various oil companies operating in the area. For mysterious reason some of these folks feel that the entities that caused the erosion due to their business activities should pay to restore the land. It is costing Continue reading “Bad for business… Good for business…”
We were sitting around the table the other night playing cards (well Phase 10 – which is almost a card game). For some reason the question came up as what the difference was between strategy and tactic. We hashed it around a while, and we came to a consensus.
A few days later I was listening to NPR and they were doing a story on Newt Gingrich. They said of an exchange he had with a reporter that it was “a strategy masquerading as a tactic’. He was turning the tables on the political press. The reporter asked him a long winded question that was essentially of the type “so how long since you stopped beating your wife.” Mr. Gingrich flipped it on the reporter and asked him when he was going to stop asking “gotcha” questions.
From the NPR print version of the story I heard By Attacking The Media, Gingrich Built A Following here is the actual exchange: Continue reading “Strategy Masquerading as a Tactic”
I regularly download several pod-casts from NPR. I listen to them as I jog or drive. The programs almost always seem to air at times I cannot listen, or cannot listen with attention. So I time shift. One of my favorites is This American Life with Ira Glass.
They recently reran a story that originally aired in February of 2005. The story was very disturbing and uplifting all at the same time. It is a crime story. It is legal drama. It is a story of redemption. It is a story about a man who was randomly picked out of a mug book by teenager. The young man claimed he saw a murder when in reality he did not. He was being bullied by the police detective during the interview and just wanted it over. So he pointed to a face in a book. That innocent face spent the next 21 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Either the police and legal system were lazy, incompetent, or overwhelmed, but the end result was prison. The newly convicted man fortunately had a childhood friend who spent the next 21 years working to get him out of prison. This is that story. I am not ashamed to admit that by the end I had tears in my eyes.
I go back and forth about the death penalty, but this story is a good argument against it. Below is a link to the page on This American Life website that has the story and you can download the podcast and listen to it.
I was listening to an NPR story about payday loan companies outside of Fort Pendleton in California.
There was a big push on to do something about them for various reason, not the least of which is that some of them were charging what was effectively 300% interest per year.
They were interviewing one of the operators of a payday loan operation, and one of his comments was, “Who are they to tell a boy about to go over to Bagdad that he cannot have $1800 wheels on his vehicle?” His comment just blew my mind for some reason.
Having never taken a payday loan, I don’t quite understand the concept. But if I were to do such a thing it would not be for $1800 chrome wheels.
And if I were charging 300% interest I sure as heck would not use a kid wanting $1800 chrome wheels as justification.