May 2, 2008
Hilzoy points at a recent health care poll:
The poll also found that in the past year, 23% of U.S. residents said they or a member of their household had either decided to stay with a current employer, instead of accepting a new job, or had switched jobs because of health insurance coverage.
This is how our current health care system harms small businesses and rural areas. I’m lucky that my own company even has health insurance options. But it costs several hundred dollars a month to keep myself, my wife, and my son covered. I’m either lucky to be able to afford it or stupid enough to trade health security for the benefits of working for a small firm.
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May 1, 2008
The
The Wizard of Ads
says:
If the goal is to cause the customer to willingly give you her attention…you must offer her a thought more interesting than the thought that currently occupies her mind.
Even though the Wizard is down on the idea of using sex to sell, this explains nicely how sex sells. It is far more interesting than your current thoughts about the electric bill.
Posted in Commerce 1 Comment »
May 1, 2008
In the face of so many people claiming Wright’s recent media appearances are a tour of vanity by a deranged, self-serving individual, Sara Robinson provides some much needed context on liberal Christianity and
Liberation Theology vs. the Prosperity Gospel.
And here’s where Jeremiah Wright comes into the story. According to Posner, Wright has been a visible and articulate critic of the GOP’s new pet theology over the years — one of a noisy clutch of ministers who’ve made no bones about the mischief inherent in this new theology. He’s also a respected and insightful proponent of black liberation theology, holding King’s torch high in the face of unscrupulous preachers who think they’re helping poor people by cajoling them to vote away their safety net and toss their government checks in the offering plate.
In a just world this issue would be a non-issue as far as as the Presidential campaign is concerned. But our discussion of Wright is a test of our ability to see through the media narrative (”Wright is a bigoted anti-American flake!) and actually respond to the content of what Wright says.
And as far as the “vanity” charge is concerned, please give it a rest. The man is a successful pastor of a sizable church and has been for years. He and his congregation have been condemned as total nutjobs by people who not only tolerate Pat Robertson but put him on television regularly. Wright’s job is a mix of political activism, cultural criticism and public speaking. What do you expect him to do in these circumstances, keep his trap shut? He’d have to have another career, like network administrator or government regulator.
(See also:
Dave Neiwart)
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April 29, 2008
Jerimiah Wright
goes on the Bill Moyers show to explain himself more fully and with full context, then gives a few more interviews. The result: he gets accused by some on the left of being
vain and publicity-grasping. Meanwhile, others say Wright believes there are neurological differences between black people and white people because
Wright says their cultures are different, a provocative and unwarranted extrapolation.
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April 28, 2008
The Vibram Fivefinger shoes arrived today so I put them on and took a short walk around the building. I wasn’t out particularly long — probably about fifteen minutes or so. But yes, they’re quite different.
First, though, I read the marketing copy. This is atrocious, and if I had to rely on that alone I’d certainly have passed over these shoes as a gimmick:
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Posted in Fat Hiker 1 Comment »
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