Iraq War to be carbon neutral by 2050 July 21, 2008
Posted by Phineas in : Irrelevant, Joke, Political/Editorial , add a commentJust kidding. That’s an Onion-style headline I had in my head when I woke up this morning. Make up your own humerous copy.
Day of the International Solidarity of Workers May 1, 2008
Posted by Phineas in : Irrelevant, Music, Political/Editorial , add a commentWell it’s May 1, Day of the International Solidarity of Workers, so be sure and find some way to stick it to the man when you can, and spend a little time with The Internationale.
Bitterness April 16, 2008
Posted by Phineas in : End Of The World, Irrelevant, Lies, Political/Editorial , add a commentOK, at the risk of participating in the echo chamber of non-issues, I’ll enter the guns/religion/bitter/elitist fray to make one small remark.
The second amendment provides the right of the people to bear arms. People who own and use guns do so thanks to this amendment. People who feel very strongly about often argue that this right is to protect them against the government among other threats. People who make such arguments generally do not think well of the government if they feel the need to defend themselves against it with weapons.
So to suggest such people are bitter about the failure of government and as a response cling to weapons is not elitist, but is perfectly in line with this very same line of reasoning that some gun owners themselves make, none of whom are ever accused of being “elitist”.
U.S. Soldiers Bathroom Graffiti March 27, 2008
Posted by Phineas in : Photos, Political/Editorial , add a commentSteve Featherstone reports on bathroom graffiti on bases in Afghanistan and Iraq.
( link )
Wottled Butter March 21, 2008
Posted by Phineas in : Environment, Irrelevant, Lies, Political/Editorial , 1 comment so farJust another unnecessary untimely and incorrect rant on the bottled water controversy. I may be writing this because I feel compelled to defend myself. The problems with bottled water are many. So let’s identify a couple main ones:
- bottled water is expensive
- production of bottled water is environmentally damaging in terms of energy to produce and the waste byproduct of the bottles, even though they are “recyclable”
- much bottled water marketing is deceptive in appealing to perceptions that it tastes better or is healthier than tap
- people who drink bottled water are therefore dupes who foolishly believe bottled water is different than tap; and, paradoxically, selfish litterbugs unconcerned with the damage their lifestyle causes the environment.
There are more objections but I think those are the main ones which you see restated in one form or another.
I agree with all of them in principle. Things that are too expensive compared to cheaper things of equal quality suck big time - agreed. Things that have horrific and entirely avoidable environmental damage way do suck. Marketing which is fraudulent or deceptive can go off and suck for all I care. Selfish dupes are such dicks.
But I’m here to say, but on the other hand… just cause I’m ornery. On the other hand, every single statement above could be said of many other things. Butter is more expensive than gasoline, that does not make the dairy industry criminal. Lying marketing scams occur in every retail sector. Waste is inherent in consumer life. It’s bad, it’s all bad.
But I think it goes way too far to claim that people who drink bottled water are fooled, duped, and somehow the same as bird-flipping Hummer drivers. I know for a fact, as much as I know anything for a fact, that the bottled water I buy (San Pellegrino, Aqcua Ferrarelle, Perrier) is NOT bottled at the local Podunk municipal water source. Perhaps worse than that, it’s imported all the way from Europe. I know for a fact that it tastes better and is healthier than what comes out out of the many tap sources I pass buy in the course of my day (the tap from the BART station bathroom? No thanks!). I do drink tap water at home, as well as expensive bottled water. When I stay in hotels I usually drink their tap water. But there are lots of places in between whose taps I won’t trust, so I’ll carry my own. I do bottle my own from my tap, but I’m not going to dehydrate if I run out. I’ll not hesitate to buy a bottle at the convenience store.
There’s plainly a difference between crappy bottle water marketed by liars, and good bottled water not marketed by liars. I just hate blanket generalizations, and I hate moral posturing. I am certainly guilty of it myself (fuck Hummers and the arrogant assholes who drive them!). I recognize that spending a lot of money for water is unsustainable — most people cannot afford it, so that’s a bit of a clue of how out of whack things are. Water is like air and should be cheap and available to all. The evil in question is not necessarily perpetrated by the consumers (although consumers can have a huge impact on the industry).
What would you say if the bottling of water could be done much more efficiently? And the recycling of the bottles were 100% effective (no landfill)? And all liars were marched off to Liar’s Island, so only truthtellers remained. Then would it be OK to drink bottled water? What if municipal water supplies could improve to produce much higher quality of water? Just saying bottled water is the same as tap is not quite the same thing as saying tap water is the very best that water can be. Even then different kinds of water have different qualities. It’s the same as wine or air or butter. It’s not all exactly the same. Sometimes I like a sparkling water, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I like mineral water and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I feel like a nut. How will these pleasures be satisfied if we’re not allowed to bottle the different varieties of water? I totally recognize how elitist that sounds, but again, it’s absolutely no more true of bottled water than it is of wine. Wine could be delivered to local innkeepers in barrels and only served from there, eliminating the bottling of wine. Maybe the difference between bottled wine and bottled water is scale. You could just drive to a nearby farm and have the butter dumped into your reusable tupperware container instead of buying it at the supermarket. Etc.
My main gripe is really the confusion between the problems of the industry and the consumers who participate in it. If there’s cynicism, deceit, waste in the industry, is it really necessary to demonize the consumer? Isn’t it possible all those statements about the industry per se are true, yet a given consumer could still be making an informed, ethical choice? I feel the same way about cigarette smoking. I am so glad we finally purged that horrible habit from mainstream public space. I am glad we have exposed the cynicism and corruption of cigarette manufacturers and the lobbyists who helped them profit by killing their customers. That said, I sometimes enjoy a cigarette. It’s still possible in spite of everything we know about tobacco, nicotine, and the tobacco industry, that a given individual is making an informed, ethical choice when they smoke. These two things are not incompatible.
How about everything in moderation, (except no Hummers)?
Immigration December 23, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : Political/Editorial , add a commentSome people just don’t have enough people to hate. They need new reasons to hate more people. And they really hate people who don’t hate the same people *they* hate.
And that’s what I think about the immigration “issue”.
Commentary: You cant take Christ out of Christmas - CNN.com December 20, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : Political/Editorial , add a commentCommentary: You cant take Christ out of Christmas - CNN.com
Oh yeah, that reminds me to recycle my “War On Saturday” post from last year.
Whaddaya know? I just took the Christ out of Christmas!
Freedom Requires Atheism December 6, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : Political/Editorial , 1 comment so farJust as atheism requires freedom.
I’ve decided to require that freedom requires atheism. Thats my requirement from now on.
Oh, also, fascism requires religion, just as religion requires fascism.
Romney, you horrible moronic idiot.
( asshole )
MPR: Select a Candidate 2008: President November 27, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : End Of The World, Irrelevant, Lies, Political/Editorial , add a commentMPR: Select a Candidate 2008: President
This *would* be a cool way to vote for a candidate. Turns out I’m a Kucinich man. Guess thats no surprise.
That Sure Was Horrible, but It Doesn’t Rise to the Level of Genocide November 25, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : Economics, End Of The World, Giving, Lies, Political/Editorial , add a commentWhat a phrase: “rise to the level of genocide“.
I know there’s a definition or many definitions, and because of this, some things are and other things are not genocide. But still, it strikes me as weasly, bureaucratic, dismissive. It’s almost always used in the negative. You hardly ever hear anyone say: “Well, how about that? This one *does* rise to the level of genocide. Yep. Sure does. It was just under that level, there’s the level, then it rose above that level.”
No — it’s usually, “that thing is horrible, but does it rise to the level of genocide?” (posed as a question but is really being answered in the negative). Or: “One thing is clear: it doesn’t rise to the level of genocide.” And then the argument hinges on a technicality or selective choosing of an operative definition of genocide. It’s like saying, “I’m indignant, but according to Webster’s dictionary, my indignation does not rise to the level of outrage. I’ll write one letter to my congressman, but I won’t write two, because this atrocity does not meet the two-letter criteria. I’ll send $100 to the relief of the victims, but I won’t send $200, because their suffering just does not quite rise to that level.” One’s suffering must rise to a certain level, after all.
“Ooo, so close! But it just doesn’t rise to the level of genocide. Try again next time!”
