The Lunatic You're Looking For

"Corporations are people, my friend...every (thing) that big corporations earn ultimately goes to people."
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the Iowa State Fair, Thursday, 11 August, 2011.

"Dear friend,

Did you see what Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney said yesterday? He actually told an Iowa crowd that 'Corporations are people.'

Corporations are people? Could the GOP be any deeper into the pockets of big business?
 
This is a perfect example of the crazy ideology we’re up against, and what our Emergency Media Campaign is designed to fight. We need to raise $50,000 by midnight to send this message from coast to coast: Corporations are NOT people. People are people, and we must put the needs of the American people – not multibillion-dollar corporations and their tax loopholes – first. Will you help us?"
The Democratic fundraising e-mail that landed in my inbox on the 12th.

Sigh. Here we go again. I don't think that it takes too deep a reading of Governor Ronmey's comments to understand what he was trying to say. Rather than referring to any sort of literal or even legal "personhood" for corporations (which has already been established by the judiciary), he was making a more or less valid point. Corporations are comprised of, well, people. Including those shady shell corporations that people and businesses set up to hide their activities from scrutiny. All corporations are effectively simply legally recognized groups of one or more people. And, up to a point, the money that is made by corporations does eventually wind up in the hands of people, although Mr. Romney seems to forget that corporations can and do hold assets in their own names, sometimes precisely because those assets are therefore not controlled (in a legal sense) by the people who run the corporation. (And perhaps more importantly, Mr. Romney left out the fact that when the money "ultimately goes to people," it's in a very skewed distribution.)

In my opinion, a more salient criticism of Romney's statement would have used the entire context, not just a convenient snippet. Of course, this isn't the way that political fundraising works. It's about hyping the idea that the Opposition of made up of unhinged ideologues who must be fought to prevent them from victimizing us all. But, for the sake of argument, let's say that Mitt Romney IS actually crazy. As in should be in inpatient treatment for psychotic disorder crazy. So? How does telling me that obligate me to believe that whatever candidate or group of candidates needed $50,000 by midnight last night is any LESS crazy and ideological? Or simply even a better option? The basic logic of a false dichotomy - Republicans are crazy, so you'd be better served to vote Democrat (and give them money to convince others to do the same) - is on full display here. And of course, the Republicans likely do the same thing in their mailings - them = bad so by process of elimination us = good.

Of course, this is nothing new. But the unthinking regularity of it all makes it ever more tiresome.

Spread the Word

So I'm reading Google+, and Will Wheaton posts about the end of Eureka. Now, I haven't watched SciFi, excuse me - SyFy, in quite some time. Mainly because it all started to seem like random low-budget crap, and eventually, reality television started to make an appearance. Eureka seemed to have broken that particular mold, but the announcement that it was being cancelled was the first I'd ever heard of it, so I wouldn't actually know.

Something tells me that even though Eureka was SyFy's highest-rated show, it simply wasn't pulling in enough viewership to attract decent advertisers. If the commercial breaks had pitches for alarm pendants, acne creams and shady out-of-state lawyers looking to sue over unpronounceable diseases resulting from sketchy medications, it wasn't drawing in enough people. While I'm not as tied into the science-fiction scene as I used to be back in the day, it's not like I've dropped off the face of the Earth, or anything like that. So why didn't I hear about the show while it was still a going concern? Especially one that everyone thought was so amazing? So I find myself wondering to what degree the community of viewers who were passionate about the show were passionate about evangelizing it to other people. Don't get me wrong, Will Wheaton's a pretty great guy, from everything I've heard. But, I've never actually met him in the flesh. Surely someone a bit closer to my everyday life had seen the show?

Yes, yes, I know that the network is supposed to be doing the promotional work, but, as the saying goes, "if you want something done right..." Corporate executives are in the game for the money. And that money comes from advertising dollars. And advertising dollars come from companies being willing to pay to piggyback their message on the back of a television program. If you're watching a television show, and the commercials that come on are for things that have no resonance for you or for anyone you know, there could be a problem. The audience is too small and/or too broke for advertisers to want to pony up enough money to reach that audience for the show to cover its production costs and the desired profit margins. Well these days (like most days), the only science fiction fan with any money is Paul Allen, so if you want a show to last, you've got to get it a bigger audience. So next time, shout it out loud, people! Okay, so it's cool to be into something before everyone else is into it. But if it doesn't last long enough to catch on, there won't be a something left to be into. And "I was into it before it died a whimpering death" just doesn't have the same cachet.

Blah, blah, blah

Seattle is considering an ordinance that would require employers to provide some amount paid time off for sick employees. Unsurprisingly, the debate on this is basically a series of ideological talking points, repeated over and over again at ever louder volumes. (Since, obviously, if they other side isn't swayed, they must not have heard you.) You'd think that this would be a relatively straightforward cost-benefit analysis. Yet both sides appear to be scrupulously avoiding approaching it in that way. And so the dueling echo chambers ramp up the volume.

Easy!

Because there's always a simple solution, isn't there?

This seems to cast the problem as one of access, rather than buying habits. It's not like it's hard to find fresh fruit in the Seattle area. This billboard is not in one of the "food deserts" that it proposes to change. There's a supermarket within walking distance, as well as a butcher that sells organic meats, a store where you can get fresh bread and any number of small restaurants of varying cuisines. And given that the supermarket is open 24 hours a day, if you're buying tobacco, rather than fresh fruit, access isn't the problem.

Still, I understand the sentiment behind it, and the "think of the children" call to action. But perhaps everyone would be better served if they kept their attention on the customers, and let them drive the changes they want.

50 Pretty Good Rules

Nobody In Particular is starting to drift back into Things Aaron Dislikes, so here's a little something I picked up from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer a few years back that I really enjoyed.

It was called 50 Pretty Good Rules for Life, and it was written by a man named Bill Center, who wrote a reader blog called A Radical Centrist on Globalism and Trade. (I should see if he's still writing it elsewhere.) Of course I don't follow all of the rules - I've pretty much chucked #3 right out the window, but they make for a pretty good outlook on life, which most of us could use. Especially those of us who revel a bit too much in our own cynicism.

1. Always play by the rules!
2. Treat everyone you meet with respect and dignity. Never intentionally alienate anyone. You can never have too many friends.
3. Avoid cynicism and sarcasm. No matter how cynical you become, you'll never be able to keep up. [But I'm getting close... I little longer and I'll be out in front, let alone just "caught up."]
4. Nothing is impossible to the person who doesn't have to do it themselves.
5. Once you know a person, if you can't get along with them it's at least partly your fault.
6. Never be vindictive. When doling out punishment, always err on the side of leniency.
7. Never stand so close to your position that when your position goes, you go with it.
8. Be an encourager. Never ridicule dreams, quench hope, or give up on fellow human being.
9. Express your gratitude. We owe a lot to others. Thank them often.
10. Be generous. Help those in need. Tip big. Don't hesitate to pay more than your fair share. It won't lower your standard of living.
11. You can't make someone else's choices. Don't let someone else make yours. Choose to be happy.
12. Call your Mom. If it's too late for that, call someone else who'll be equally happy to hear your voice.
13. The details are just as important as the big picture.
14. Listen carefully. Opportunity often knocks softly and wisdom sometimes whispers.
15. Respect your elders. If things work out really, really well you will eventually be old yourself. 
16. Stay calm. Lighten up. The first report is usually wrong. Except for rare life-and-death instances, things are seldom as bad as you imagine and almost always look better in the morning.
17. Vote or keep quiet.
18. Try at least twice as hard to understand the views of others as you do to explain your own. It helps to start by assuming not everyone who disagrees with you is an idiot.
19. Always know where you're headed. Have a personal mission, vision and goals. Set high goals for yourself and high standards for yourself and others. Have at least one truly audacious goal.
20. Fortune favors the well-prepared. The harder you work, the luckier you get.
21. Get up early. Get to work early. Go home early.
22. When dealing with the media, remember, they always get the last word. Never do or say anything you wouldn't want to read about on the front page. 
23. Take responsibility for your own life. Never blame circumstances, other people or bad luck. Life is not fair. Don't whine – ever.
24. Don't expect people to follow your advice and ignore your example.
25. Treat children as your equals. Don't patronize or talk down to them. Cherish them for who they are, not who you'd like them to be.
26. Take good care of yourself. You're gonna live longer than you expect and good health is a joy and productivity multiplier. Death is nature's way of telling you it's time to slow down.
27. Be loyal. Keep other peoples' secrets and don't burden them with yours.
28. The world is changing, and will continue to change, like it or not. Our challenge is to help ensure it changes for the better.
29. It is rare for someone to remark, "Gosh that speech was too short."
30. Don't waste too much time trying to stifle bad ideas. It's tough enough to get a really good idea implemented.
31. Pray for wisdom and courage, not for stuff.
32. Be yourself. If that's not good enough, try harder. Never stop working to improve yourself.
33. Become a good mentor and learn to accept mentoring from others. No matter what stage of life you're entering, you've never been there before and you still have a lot to learn.
34. Learn the power of forgiveness and practice it. Forgive yourself first. Don't dwell on past mistakes. Learn from them and vow to do better in the future.
35. The only way to accept a complement is to say "thank you" and then do your best to live up to it.
36. Hire people who are smarter than you are, then listen to them and take care of them.
37. Strive for excellence, not perfection. Seek quality and value in all things.
38. Remember, overnight success usually takes at least fifteen or twenty years.
39. Media bias is inescapable. Avoid consuming only the news with which you agree. Limit your daily media intake or risk distorting your view of reality.
40. A successful marriage depends less on finding just the right mate than becoming just the right mate.
41. Never say you don't have enough time. You have precisely the same amount of time as everyone else. Use it wisely. 
42. It's hard to be truly humble, which is mystifying when you consider how much we have to be humble about. 
43. Share credit; shoulder blame.
44. Have the courage to always say and do the right thing regardless of the consequences to you.
45. Never hesitate to say: I don't know, or I need help, or I made a mistake, or I'm sorry.
46. Don't gossip or speak ill of others.
47. Stay open to new ideas, new experiences and new people. Darwin posited "survival of the most adaptable" not "survival of the fittest." It's more important to be adaptable than to be tough. [Darwin borrowed the term from Herbert Spencer to stand in for "Natural Selection." (On the Origin of Species, p. 77.)]
48. Trust your instincts. Be decisive, even if there's a chance of error or mistake. Don't let risk of failure stand in the way of a good decision. 
49. Stick with the optimists. Things will be tough enough if they're right.
50. Sometimes you gotta break the rules – especially when confronted with a "no win" scenario. When necessary, ask forgiveness and press on!