The Self-Attribution Fallacy (Monbiot)

I don't always agree with George Monbiot, especially when it comes to his view on nuclear power vs renewable energy sources. But often he's right on -- particularly in matters that relate to the wealthy and the working class.

Check out his latest here:  The Self-Attribution Fallacy

Capitalism and the Ideology of Choice

I like the RSA Animatons and watch them whenever I can. Here's one on Capitalism and the Ideology of Choice, by Renata Salecl.

In this new RSAnimate, Professor Renata Salecl explores the paralysing anxiety and dissatisfaction surrounding limitless choice. Does the freedom to be the architects of our own lives actually hinder rather than help us? Does our preoccupation with choosing and consuming actually obstruct social change?

Lately, I have also been listening to their talks on my BeyondPod podcatcher. In some ways, I like them a lot better than TED Talks. Maybe it's just the preponderance of British accents.

Better Watch Your Cookie...

I saw this on Al Jazeera the other day (The US: Waking up to class politics).

A popular item is going around in emails and Facebook pages among the people who are in solidarity with the workers protesting against anti-labour legislation in Wisconsin: A CEO, a union worker and a Tea Partier (a member of the emerging right-wing political movement) are at a table with 12 cookies. The CEO takes 11 and says to the Tea Partier: "Keep an eye on that union guy, he wants your cookie."

When I related it to Tyler, a friend, via email, he came back with:

Union guy says, "That's the last time I make cookies for you bastards."

Hallin's Sphere's of Consensus, Controversy and Deviance

I was listening to On The Media this weekend, specifically to a story titled "Does NPR Have A Liberal Bias?" and they mentioned Daniel C. Hallin's book The Uncensored War and a diagram he has in it on journalism and sphere's of consensus, legitimate controversy and deviance.

Along these lines, Allison Kilkenny has a good writeup on what these mean for the delegitimation of the standard media over time (and indirectly, how this might relate to Progressives  -- or even Leftists, and to ideological hegemony overall).

Worth a read.

Let's get our priorities straight, people!

Source: Smart Phones Helping to Move Business from the Boardroom to the Bathroom

The office may close at 5, but for 89% of  people business is always open.

(89%) believe it’s important to be readily available to colleagues, supervisors and clients at all times, even after business hours. In fact, almost eight in ten (79%) immediately respond to a work email on their smart phone regardless of time of day.

And when they say ‘readily available’, they mean no what matters the circumstances. An astounding 72% admit to taking business calls while on the jon, 59% during the middle of the night, 38% while on a date, 32% in church, 16% at a funeral, and 10% during sex. (Emphasis added.)

Two Things on the Internet Today for a Well Rounded Picture of What's Going on Now

Last night I listened to the Friday Planet Money Podcast "Wall Street Trickery Inflated The Bubble." Then this morning, Frank Rich in the N Y TImes had a piece called "The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party."

The Planet Money podcast points to a ProPublica piece, longer and more detailed, on the shenanigans the CDO rats were up to on the sinking ship of the economy. Rich's piece mentions an article in the New Yorker by Janet Mayer on the billionaire Birchers funding the Tea Party as "useful idiots."  I hope to read both of these expanded articles in the next couple of days.

Portrait of a bunch of managment scumbags

In Mott’s Strike, More Than Pay at Stake (NY Times)

Please boycott all Dr. Pepper/Snapple products until this is resolved in the workers' favor.

Thanks.

Today's favorite quote from the Flying Monkey Right

Activists Take Fight on Immigration to Border (NY Times)

Cindy Kolb, a border activist who lives nearby, yelled out through the thick metal slates in the border fence, which had been decorated on the American side with tiny flags, “Hey, don’t come over here anymore.”


She added: “We don’t like illegals hiding under bushes when our kids wait for the school bus. This border needs to be secure.”

Sniglet: leatherette

A woman, usually over 40, who, from years of visiting tanning salons, has acquired skin with the texture of find Moroccan leather. Such a person is a leatherette.

Sniglet: ignostic

A person who uses religion or religious belief to ignore personal or political problems staring them in the face. Such a person is ignostic.