How's this for an opening graf? (From someone who doesn't even work in retail!)

A non-refundable $45 fee on a bank statement whose existence cannot be explained by anyone; Raytheon’s Twitter account responding to a jape from Lockheed Martin’s Twitter account with a GIF of a grimacing Steve Carell from an episode of The Office; a show on The Learning Channel that is just goateed men dropping bricks on each other from increasingly great heights; the broader vibe and actual experience of Netflix; a meme on a relative’s Facebook page in which a Minion is dressed like a police officer for reasons that are not immediately clear. All strong competitors, to be sure, but for my money the most patently and potently of-this-moment experience currently available is that of being talked down to by an extremely rich person who is obviously dumber than you.

The rest, from David Roth, is also as good. It's about the current state of affairs in Major League Baseball, but it doesn't take much effort to see how it extends.

Sometimes there are no words

During a discussion about a recent hubbub:

Maybe the work-all-the-time — and work-at-all-costs — culture that the article explored at Amazon wasn’t a tech-specific issue.

The world’s most successful consulting firms, law firms, banks and hedge funds accept that this is the cost of excellence. Rather than deny that the grind exists, employees and managers at elite companies in these fields see it as part of what makes them better. It took a Bank of America intern dying for other leading banks like Goldman Sachs to cap the number of hours that an intern can work at 17 hours a day.

Emphs added, internal links not copied. See the original article.

Paul Krugman's lament

Does a continuing depression actually serve the interests of the wealthy? That’s doubtful, since a booming economy is generally good for almost everyone. What is true, however, is that the years since we turned to austerity have been dismal for workers but not at all bad for the wealthy, who have benefited from surging profits and stock prices even as long-term unemployment festers. The 1 percent may not actually want a weak economy, but they’re doing well enough to indulge their prejudices.

And this makes one wonder how much difference the intellectual collapse of the austerian position will actually make. To the extent that we have policy of the 1 percent, by the 1 percent, for the 1 percent, won’t we just see new justifications for the same old policies?

I hope not; I’d like to believe that ideas and evidence matter, at least a bit. Otherwise, what am I doing with my life?

Sorry to steal your conclusion, Prof. K., but I know everyone will like seeing it again from the start.

How broken is our tax system when ...

... Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, of all people, is complaining about a loophole for the super-rich?

Of the many injustices that permeate America’s byzantine tax code, few are as outrageous as the tax rate on “carried interest” — the profits made by private equity and hedge fund managers, as well as venture capitalists and partners in real estate investment trusts. This huge tax benefit enriches an already privileged sliver of financiers and violates basic standards of fairness and common sense.

Record scratching noise.

When I read that lede and looked at the byline, I Googled just to be sure she was who I thought she was. Which was worth it, because interestingly enough, the top result, after the Wikipedia and the images links, was a profile headlined "Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild’s Kinder, Gentler Capitalism."

So, good for her, limousine liberal, Obama-hater, search engine manipulator, or whatever. And here's a useful image from the profile, which "she’d borrowed … from Harvard economist Larry Katz," but again, so what, glad to have her putting it out there:

“Thirty years ago, the Anglo-American capitalist system was the apartment block everyone in the world admired,” Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild told a gathering of business and political influentials gathered on the 28th floor of Bloomberg LP’s Lexington Avenue office tower on Thursday morning.

“Now, that apartment block has really nice apartments up on top. In the middle, they’re kind of cramped and dowdy, and on the lower floors, they’re underwater. But the worst part of it is—the elevator’s broken.”

Y'know, this socialist workers' paradise conservatives promised me Obama would deliver ...

... is sure taking its own sweet time to get here.

Incomes rose more than 11 percent for the top 1 percent of earners during the economic recovery, but not at all for everybody else, according to new data.

(Wait. There was an economic recovery?)

The numbers, produced by Emmanuel Saez, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, show overall income growing by just 1.7 percent over the period. But there was a wide gap between the top 1 percent, whose earnings rose by 11.2 percent, and the other 99 percent, whose earnings declined by 0.4 percent.

This calls for something more than a sternly worded blog post. It's time for ... class warfare!

"I'm beginning to think it's a psychological condition."

You'd think a man like Roy Edroso, who knows more about the bowels of Full Metal Wingnuttia than anyone else I've ever met, could not possibly be shocked anymore.

Think again.

Aaaaaand just for the record, I'd be willing to bet Rob Port considers himself a Good Christian.

Props to Doghouse, in the comments, too.

I think Howard Zinn might fail to see the humor in this

(vide | pic. source: The New Yorker/Michael Shaw | also? just sayin: top result.)

Heh. That Krugman.

... while it’s true that the finance guys are still making out like bandits — in part because, as we now know, some of them actually are bandits — ...

(From "Robots and Robber Barons.")

Probably you do not eat at any of these restaurants ...

... (your good taste already in evidence from your choice of online reading material) but sometimes, when you're traveling, especially for work, say, in a place like Orlando, Florida, you might be presented with main streets filled with corporate franchise Neighbo®hood ®estau®ants. I am speaking of places like Papa John's, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Applebee's. You don't want to, but there doesn't seem to be much choice, and hey, one's pretty much like another, right?

In many ways, yes. But maybe not all. So if you're a patron of any of the above, however reluctantly, I encourage you to read "A Children’s Treasury of CEOs Throwing Very Grown-Up Tantrums Over Obamacare."

Job creators? Nah. Plutocrats. And that's how they do.

(pic. source)

Line of the Day: 2012-09-19

Wait, what?

Romney Apologizes To Nation's 150 Million 'Starving, Filthy Beggars'

[...]

“I know just how hard it must be to get through a miserable, destitute life that is rife with crying babies whose shrieks consistently disrupt the affluent members of society who actually contribute something to this world,” said the GOP candidate, adding that he wanted to make amends for his recent statements and reach out to what he called the country’s “snaggle-toothed street people” and “hell-spawned savages.” “I know it can be challenging to wake each morning, covered in your own feces and refuse, and get back out there on the streets to beg for spare change and food scraps, always one step from dying right there in an alley.”

“I know your challenges, and I am ready to fight for you,” he added

Ok, yeah.

(h/t: Mark Kleiman)

Elitists, then and now

[ + ]

---

Cartoon by Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer. More here.

(h/t: Trish K.)

Hey, Mitt Romney: we're cartographers and we're here to help!

The Obama campaign has a request:

We think this may be a useful guide:

[ + ]

(pic. sources: Jack, via email | "Top Images for #Romneyshambles")

Van Jones: "Rebuild the Dream"

This talk at Google, which just got posted yesterday, is well worth your time, particularly if you are one of those people whose attitude is more or less Remember what it felt like in 2008? And now …? Meh.

(alt. video link)

You might also have a look at the website RebuildTheDream.com and the book of the same name [Powells | B&N | Amazon].

From the annals of the 1%

Probably you heard about the renovations Willard is doing on one of his many houses, including the 3600 sq ft basement, the elevator for his cars, etc. But here's a part I hadn't heard:

A project this ambitious comes with another feature you don’t always find with the typical fixer-upper: its own lobbyist, hired by Romney to push the plan through the approval process.

When you're even raising eyebrows at the rePubOLITICO, you might just be a little out of touch.

(h/t: Deeky, RT by Kevin Wolf)

Two Graphic Reminders

---

Pics swiped from Strong Intelligent Women Choosing Equality & Freedom Instead Of Religion, on Facebook, via Rita Matthews.

Not sure how I feel about this, but ...

... it certainly bears further contemplation, and I definitely sympathize with the underlying motivations.

Ban The Box

Our “Ban the Box” campaign calls for the elimination of the questions about past convictions on initialpublic employment applications. Our aim is to win policy change through grassroots mobilizations, and to build a political movement of formerly-incarcerated activists. This campaign will allow us to target and challenge the many “boxes” on a variety of applications (i.e. employment, housing, social services, etc.) we are required to check that supports structural discrimination against formerly-incarcerated people.

Banning the box on public employment applications will contribute to public safety because it will promote stable employment in our communities. Communities of color and poor communities already are targeted by mass imprisonment, racial profiling, school closures, and low employment rates. People coming out of prison or county jails need to be able to feed their families, pay rent, and reunite with their families, and return their lives as productive members of the community. People with jobs and stable community lives are much less likely to return committing crimes in order to survive.

Ban The Box is a campaign being conducted by All Of Us Or None.

(h/t: Rexi44)

Wow. I agree with the GHEMRotRSTF on something!

Looks like even Erick Erickson gets why SOPA and PIPA are bad. Good for him.

Also, Paul Ryan completely changed his tune, thanks to grassroots political pressure. Keep up the good work, everybody.

Want more details? See the EFF's recent article, "Blacklist Bills Becoming Hot Button Issue in 2012 Election."

Also.

[Added] Useful links in Comments.

"It’s the first time I ever heard a programmed drum in Tuareg guitar music."

Not actually a post about VW SUVs.

ur-hipsters?

Can't wait till the suits from Big Content hear about this:

Digital filesharing doesn’t need the internet. This is the case at least in Western Africa and other parts of the developing world, where computers aren’t yet consumer goods for most and, even if they were, web access isn’t exactly New York City. Lovers of music still get it done, however, sharing files between knockoff cell phones via bluetooth connections and accumulating song collections in memory cards and bitrates that would probably make most in our lossless world laugh. It’s created a music culture that’s uniquely underground, an awesome anything-goes world of No Limit-style rap marrying Megaman-synth workouts, strange new techno-folks, and various other things so far untaggable.

Portlander Christopher Kirkley put together a compilation of stuff collected from the cell phones of music listeners in Western Africa and released it a few years ago on cassette, called simply Music From Saharan Cell Phones Vol. 1, via his Sahel Sounds. Since then, he’s taken on the mammoth task of tracking down every artist on it, who will now get 60-percent of the profits from a rerelease of the compilation last month on vinyl. Over the holidays, I got the chance to ask Kirkley a few questions about cell phone sharing culture and the process of putting the comp together.

There's more, including download links for volumes one and two.

(h/t: NYT/Bits | pic. source: National Archives UK)

[Added] So far, it's quite a bit different from what I expected. (In a good way.)

"Cute Cats and the Arab Spring"

[Update] Audio-only file now available for download, if you prefer. See this post.

__________

"When Social Media Meet Social Change"

Here is the 2011 Vancouver Human Rights Lecture, given by Ethan Zuckerman. Even if you think you can't stand to hear one more word about Facebook and Twitter saving the commoners from the ruling classes, I encourage you to give this a chance. Despite his obvious enthusiasm for new media and what it may afford in bringing about monumental change, Zuckerman is quite realistic about the limitations and the risks. Also, he hates the word "viral."

It's about fifty-four minutes long, plus about thirteen minutes of Q&A at the end. If you'd rather download an MP3 of the highlights, see Cory Doctorow's tweet or right-click and save this directly.

Without further ado ...

(alt. video link)

Related links: Ethan Zuckerman's blog and a cute cat.

Know hope! (And I do mean know.)

From Sarah van Gelder:

The 12 Most Hopeful Trends to Build On in 2012

Not a bad listicle at all.

(h/t: Nation of Change)