Author: Aaron Weber

Genuine Attempts at Not Being a Bitter Jerk

OK, a real attempt to post something uplifting.
This is sort of nice: Instructions for management on how to defuse bad employee feelings. Hey, people are actually thinking about how they ought to treat other people!

The song New Partner by Palace, a.k.a. Will Oldham, which seems somehow uplifting to me. It makes me feel like I’m moving forward, like I’m able to live in the present and not still completely destroy my past. Those who know me know what I mean, I think, perhaps.

Smart People, Smart Thinking

I dedicate so much time to stupidity and the negative here, I’d like to point out a few smart people. Of course they tend to say negative things too sometimes, but they point out hope as often as not.
Eric Hobsbawm, historian and thinker. Stan Goff, former military man, although he’s quite cynical and his authenticity has been questioned often enough. Lewis Lapham over at Harper’s. Heck, Harpers and its wonderful weekly update. A.S. Byatt defending adult literature against the popularity of fluff.

I guess most of that is still pretty negative there. Well, call me a nattering nabob. I’ll have to try again later.

Coverups, fuckups, fucking, and doing it all ass-backwards

Bush Administration slow to help 9/11 commission, gee, that’s surprising. This got covered in the WSJ as well, so it’s not like it’s just lefty ranting.

Oh, and they admit to lying about the nukes, and Congress is finally beginning to investigate the fact that our energy policy was set by the oil industry in a smoke-filled room with just Cheney and nobody else around and we aren’t allowed to know who was there or what was discussed– just that we’re almost certain we’re getting fucked.

Remeber, Dick, mistakes can be forgiven, but nobody forgives a coverup.

So, if you find a weakness, publish it, right? Somehow it seems odd to classify a collection of public information. But is baring it all so you know who’s fucking whom really thr right idea?

Regardless, you can’t go around naked without losing some weight. Even if you have to gain a few to qualify for the weight-loss program.

Tech Support Hell

My friend Mark helps out on a free mailing list, offering free help to people who run into trouble with software. Yesterday he got a message from one of the list members saying:

Hey Mark,
Do me a favor, go fuck yourself, and while you are at it get me off this stupid list.
Best and highest regards,
Tom

More Overt Stupidity

Remember, never read an internet messageboard.

The usual argument is this: A: Gays are bad. B: That’s a religious statement, and church and state are separate. A: The state is built on a basis of religious morality.

But sometimes you get things like this: “It isn’t religious doctrine that states that homosexuality is an ‘abomination’, God states it.”

Right. Because Christianity isn’t a religion nor does it have a doctrine.

Just remember, these are the people who rule a great Nation. They have regular conversations with invisible voices, and then order the deaths of thousands of people based on what those voices say.

Hyperbole

Nick Kristof’s May 9 article No Time to Get Squeamish describes what I hope are somewhat exaggerated situations in the N.I.H. Still, I don’t doubt that any ant-AIDS education that mentions using rubbers instead of fearing Satan is going to be squelched. Which is a shame, because speaking in tongues often means not speaking the language of the people you’re trying to help.

Most AIDS scientists are terrified these days. They describe witch hunts by neo-Puritans in and out of the Bush administration, and many are so nervous that in e-mail and research abstracts they avoid using words like ”gays,” ”homosexuals,” ”anal sex” or ”sex workers.”

‘”I would recommend avoiding all electronic communication to any N.I.H. office,” one scientist warned in one of many e-mail notes buzzing among AIDS researchers. “Phone communication does not appear tapped at this time. Even so, I am advising staff to speak `in code’ unless an N.I.H. staff member indicates you can speak freely. In short, assume you are living in Stalinist Russia when communicating with the United States government.”

Ironic Things

Apparently people come to this site looking for irony. That’s not ironic. The Guardian has a great article about other things that irony is, or isn’t.

Also not ironic is the fact that Africa is all messed up.. Meanwhile, arguably imortant peopple actually defend nepotism. The defended features of “positive nepotism” are really mere brakes on an otherwise corrosive practice. Note that the word comes from the Latin for “nephew,” and described the favored sons (disguised as nephews) of priests and especially popes during one of the more celebrated periods of corruption in the rennaisance Church.

Requisite Political Crap following Independence Day: I have decided that I disagree with Dean on everything but war and sodomy.

  • I am in favor of expanded trade (and migration/immigration); he wants NAFTA repealed. I fail to see how cutting trade with our neighbors will improve our economy.
  • He more prone to taking a hawkish side in the Palestine/Israel thing, which is better than nothing, but still not the unbiased stance I’d like.
  • He’s anti-drug. I favor deregulation.

This leaves me with Kucinich, who’s even less electable, and the undifferentiated mass of moderates. What annoys me is that my only influence on the process is primary-picking, since MA is going to go for the Dems no matter what. Well, I guess that says “Kerry,” really, although Edwards would be probably have a wider appeal if he had the cash to pull it off.

Slogans:

  • Howard Dean, the McGovern of 2004.
  • Lieberman: Conservative enough for a Republican; pH Balanced for a Democrat.