You need a telephone to get a job

Last updated on: May 31, 2010 at 11:38 am By Fred Clark

Atrios points to this response from the Center for Economic and Policy Research to Robert J. Samuelson's Washington Post column in which he argues that America's poor are lucky duckies because, among other things, they have microwaves and cellphones. Samuelson regards cellphones as a luxury item. Which is to say, in 2010, that Robert J. Samuelson regards having a telephone as a luxury item. Here, for Mr. Samuelson's benefit, is a screencap from McDonald's online application for a crew member... Read more

Sex & Money, part 1

Last updated on: May 29, 2010 at 5:07 pm By Fred Clark

Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the South Shore Bank I had serious reservations before taking my first job out of college. It was, without a doubt, a do-gooder, hopey-changey gig — an internship in the social ministries department of a national Protestant denomination. Most of the work would involve anti-Apartheid activism or lobbying corporations for better environmental practices. And part of the job involved overseeing the denomination's "alternative investments" portfolio. This was mostly George Bailey-type stuff... Read more

From Adam to After the Flood

Last updated on: May 29, 2010 at 3:47 am By Fred Clark

I think I'll stick around and show a little faith in this weary town … "Adam Raised a Cain," Bruce Springsteen"Addicted to Love," Ciccone Youth"Adia," Sarah McLachlan"Adore," Prince"Adrian," Jewel"Adventure Rocket Ship," Robyn Hitchcock"Aeroplane," The Everybodyfields"An Affair to Remember," Soundtrack"African Shadow Man," Johnny Clegg & Savuka"After the Flood," Lone Justice Kind of a narrow alphabetical range, but I couldn't resist. I've been seeing lots of ads lately for some new wonder-drug to treat "Shift-Work Syndrome." Here I thought I just had... Read more

The compass now points south

Last updated on: May 26, 2010 at 4:26 pm By Fred Clark

I've just finished listening to Dr. David Blight's lectures on "The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877" via Yale's Open University. I couldn't afford to audit a class at Yale, and commuting to New Haven would not have been convenient. Yet this was free and easy. It's almost as though this elite Ivy League institution has forgotten its mission to be all snooty and exclusive. (I keep picturing Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore storming into an office and demanding an... Read more

TF: Section 4

Last updated on: May 25, 2010 at 3:13 am By Fred Clark

Tribulation Force, pp. 219-226 Our scene opens with Rayford and Chloe breathlessly gathering around the television for a CNN special breaking-news report: President Fitzhugh has just announced that he is lending the plane that was to become his new Air Force One to the United Nations for use by Nicolae Carpathia. This is big news for Rayford, specifically, but it's a bit baffling as to why the authors think it would otherwise be newsworthy.* The way they tell it, CNN's... Read more

A peace pie and Bible blegging

Last updated on: May 24, 2010 at 1:41 pm By Fred Clark

Consider this an early Monday open thread. I'm told some of the current comment threads have gotten a bit tense, and while I don't know what the issue(s) of contention is/are, I'm confident it's not pie. Who doesn't like pie? Like this delicious-looking blueberry pie, for example — — blueberry pie may be the tastiest form of conflict resolution there is. Also, without wanting to impose any restrictions or enforced topics on this hopefully conciliatory peace-pie open thread, I do... Read more

All You’res

Last updated on: May 21, 2010 at 2:41 pm By Fred Clark

God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox … "You're Gonna Lose That Girl," The Beatles"You're Gonna Miss Me," 13th Floor Elevators"You're Loved Tonight," Randy Stonehill"You're Missing," Bruce Springsteen"You're My Best Friend," Queen"You're My Thrill," Billie Holiday"You're My Woman," Van Morrison"You're Not Alone," East Village Opera Company"You're Not Drinking Enough," Don Henley"You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care)," Buddy Holly"You're the First," Unlikely Cowboy"You're the One," Buddy Holly The clip above for "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" is from Help!... Read more

Small wonder

Last updated on: May 20, 2010 at 4:50 pm By Fred Clark

In an hour or so I will cross the border from Pennsylvania into the strange, alien world where I work. The picture here, from the paper's website, conveys some of the through-the-looking-glass perspective of the tiny state to our south. The possibility of consumer protections against predatory, arbitrary and unfounded rate-hikes and fees from credit-card lenders is covered as a threatening storm cloud on the horizon. Bought-and-paid-for politicians screwing over their constituents to side with the credit-card lenders against consumers... Read more

Much will be asked

Last updated on: May 19, 2010 at 4:05 pm By Fred Clark

Since I've written a bit lately about people who have chosen to become much more stupid than they need to be, let me take a moment to also discuss how this same dynamic can afflict actual geniuses — or at least those geniuses who seem most eager to have us think of them as geniuses. What I mean is that I'm not terribly impressed by Mensa. I think I'm supposed to be, and I would have expected I would be,... Read more

TF: The Scornful Colleague

Last updated on: May 18, 2010 at 12:56 am By Fred Clark

Tribulation Force, pp. 218-219 Jimmy Borland is like the scornful colleague from a thousand disaster movies. You know the guy — he appears shortly after the opening credits to mock the quixotic hero for foolishly believing that the experiment is too dangerous or that the long dormant volcano just discovered beneath Los Angeles is about to awaken. By the third reel, of course, the scornful colleague will be consumed by raptors and/or lava as the hero watches in horror after... Read more