Re: Underperforming?

1

It's not like they have anything else very pressing, so the miners may as well dig some gold. Since they aren't being paid, they could keep it.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:07 AM
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It's not like they have anything else very pressing

Au contraire, mon frère:

Chilean officials said the miners will have to remove upward of 3,000 tons of rock as it falls into the area where they are trapped. There is little danger to the men - the area includes a shelter and about 500 meters (yards) of a shaft outside that. But as the rock starts to fall a month from now, the men will work in nonstop shifts to remove it with wheelbarrows and industrial sweepers.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:35 AM
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Who knew there would be such a big downside to being trapped in a mine?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:39 AM
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If the company declares bankruptcy, can their families claim unemployment (is there unemployment in Chile?) while the family member who's been laid off can't get to the office to register?


Posted by: chris y | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:51 AM
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5

I'm not sure I like the look of this.


Posted by: Timothy | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 10:10 AM
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6

I fixed your post, Stanley. No need to thank me—anyone would have done it.


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 10:49 AM
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7

6: what did I manage to fuck up today?


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 10:57 AM
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8

"<a/>" rather than "</a>".


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 10:59 AM
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9

Oh, my.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 11:01 AM
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10

I'm surprise we don't have 'small business' or 'free enterprise' day here.


Posted by: yoyo | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 12:28 PM
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11

Right to Work Day


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 3:01 PM
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12

Labour Day: time to breakout out the songs of Komar and Melamid.


Posted by: Econolicious DJ | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 4:13 PM
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13

12: And it's still Ramadan! And almost Yom Kippur!


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 5:04 PM
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14

Do either of those change when I have to stop wearing white pants?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 5:05 PM
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Labor Day Outrage

(All those who complain about Yggles comments section. This is what happens when you review, edit, set conditions, delete comments. You become responsible for the words and actions of all participants, including weirdos going p****l at Republican headquarters C/ia/lis abuse. Threads must be free, and irresponsible!)


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 6:37 PM
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15+:Gag Preview already Craigslist


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 6:39 PM
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||

Wallpaper : Negress Lying Down Rembrandt, 1658 Jeez that's good.

Article on NLD

Most of the onlines are too dark; somebody loaded up very nice scans to the Athenaeum

|>


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 6:50 PM
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Threads must be free

Thread is born free, and everywhere it is in bad clothes.


Posted by: | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 6:57 PM
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||

A pundit whose name is often taken in vain around here has apparently issued a sort-of mea culpa for her views on the Iraq war.

I say "apparently" because I'm not willing to click through and read the thing myself. It's linked in a front-page post at Obsidian Wings, although the comment thread at ObWi veers off pretty quickly into debating the reasons behind the war and if we were right to fight it.

But here's what I'm interested in: What responsibility does she (or any pundit) have to atone?

As far as I can tell, pundits never, ever lose their jobs for being wrong. They don't get pay cuts or fines or even publicly embarrassed. There is no requirement that they learn from their mistakes, so they are free to repeat the same misery in the future when, say, another ill-advised war campaign gets rolling.

This is eerily unlike professional and college sports, in which people's prognostications and statistical analysis are regularly ripped to shreds and hotly debated by fans and other analysts.

Given that they live in this consequence-free zone, ought they at least to sacrifice some time or effort in apology for the suffering to which they contributed?

||>


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 6:57 PM
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I say "apparently" because I'm not willing to click through and read the thing myself.

Just read it and then clear your browser history. No one will know.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 6:58 PM
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18 was me.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 6:59 PM
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It's the click, not the content, Moby.

And anyway, there are a zillion other examples. Tom Friedman, for starters.

We're in a season of repentance for at least two of the world's major religions. It's worth talking about.


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:04 PM
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I'm glad my religions doesn't have it's season of repentance at the same time as college football.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:10 PM
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my religions

Geez, quit hogging so many.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:12 PM
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You can have my Buddhism. They are upset with my anyway. I keep spelling writing "Dali Llama."


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:22 PM
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aaah. I'm going to watch a movie or something that requires less mental effort.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:22 PM
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I don't read the Nameless Pundit.

Since I am in a trollspasm, This Guy (9:40 of solo piano, with a finale by Trane) is at the top of my current playlist, seeking as my HD's died and I needed to reload. The best blues pianist evah.


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:26 PM
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I mean sure, Tatum, Powell,, Monk, Evans may have been more technically challenging, but what you want late Saturday night when you are winding down and need to relax, and have too much self-respect for Shearing. That guy.

From Dallas, of course.


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:33 PM
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We're in a season of repentance

A season of rethinking, anyway. I've been fascinated by E.D. Kain's announcement at Balloon Juice that he's decided not to self-identify as conservative any more. (At the same time we have Yglesias turning all weird-ass libertarian.)

With respect to McMegan, What responsibility does she (or any pundit) have to atone? As far as I can tell, pundits never, ever lose their jobs for being wrong. They don't get pay cuts or fines or even publicly embarrassed.

She's been plenty publicly embarrassed, actually. Whether her job is on the line because of it is debatable, but apparently she's doing some thinking. All to the good.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:36 PM
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She's been publicly criticized. "Publicly embarrassed" to me would mean that she had actually suffered some consequences -- been disinvited somewhere she was supposed to speak, had protesters show up, been forced by her employer to publish corrections to her factual misstatements, had job offers withdrawn, pay cut, or frequency of publishing diminished. AFAICT, none of that has happened.


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:44 PM
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For more cheer there's the latest affaire du jour in Germany, namely German central banker and Social Democrat Thilo Sarrazin's book 'Deutschland schafft sich ab' or 'Germany is destroying itself'. It's part of his continuing campaign to explain how the bad, lazy, violent, stupid, genetically inferior Turkish, Arab, and African immigrants are lowering the good German biological stock and will soon lead to its destruction. Initial reactions were good, with pretty much every front bench pol slamming him and demanding he be fired. But the grassroots of both the SPD and the CDU have pushed back hard, and they've been joined by some conservative CDU/CSU politicians along with the Frankfurter Allgemeine, the closest thing Germany has to a paper of record. All have been screaming about censorship, political correctness, brave truthtelling etc. So know Merkel has been forced to backpedal a bit and call for a 'immigration debate without taboos'. I glanced at some of the comment threads in Die Zeit, Spiegel, and FAZ, and it was just depressing. Think Pam Geller or Andrew McCarthy.


Posted by: teraz kurwa my | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:47 PM
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30: As far as we know, that hasn't happened, but we don't really know. I'd say she's been increasingly marginalized, however, and -- not to be too crude about this -- she's ambitious. To my mind, anyone with a hair of sense figures out that thoughtful reassessment (especially in light of reassessment on the part of the populace at large) is the way to establish a lasting name and reputation that can be carried forward.

I have no idea. I didn't click through either, in part because I assumed that whatever she gave with one hand, she'd be taking back with the other.

I'm not sure why you're giving McMegan more than a passing glance, to tell you the truth.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 7:53 PM
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Are we talking about The Economic Tool That is Wrong About Everything? Her whole shtick is that being constantly wrong and refusing to admit it and being almost insanely annoying in an undergrad way can work if you're a Republican and brazen enough about it.

I believe God has sent her to Earth to teach us patience on this world, and to recognize that our only hope of salvation lies in the next.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 8:19 PM
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34

Well, teraz's news is pretty depressing too.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 8:35 PM
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35

This Ta-Nehisi column is worth reading, if you haven't seen it.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 8:50 PM
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30: "Publicly embarrassed" to me would mean that she had actually suffered some consequences --

Publicly embarrassed would require she feel bad about screwing up, something I don't think is in her makeup.

34: Well, teraz's news is pretty depressing too.

Everywhere the right wing seems to be on the march. This too shall pass and quickly I think.

max
['I hope, certainly.']


Posted by: max | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 8:50 PM
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Pundits whose currency is reputation, links, pageviews, sales and book advances might feel a pinch if any of those were affected. Whether they feel shame is between them and their consciences dark nights of the soul.

The piece about the TNH essay that strikes me is the question of whether or not to engage in discussions of humanity. The edge cases are easier to figure out -- never bother arguing with an extremist alone; definitely engage if you have an unreflective fence-sitter who is just parroting talking points.

But most of the situations you encounter are in the middle. When people want to engage in a sober, reasoned debate about whether prisoners are people, or whether consent is a legitimate expectation, or gays/blacks/immigrants/Muslims/whatever are deserving of equal protection...it's exhausting.

Of course, those of us who don't belong to any of those groups have the privilege of refusing to engage. Not everyone does.


Posted by: Witt | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:09 PM
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OT: If you are going to put "Vegan" in biggish letters on the box, maybe you could think of something to call the things in the box that is more general than "Ice Cream Cones."


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:18 PM
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32

I have no idea. I didn't click through either, in part because I assumed that whatever she gave with one hand, she'd be taking back with the other.

Actually I thought it was one of her better posts. And an useful exercise for any pundit who wants to improve.


Posted by: James B. Shearer | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:24 PM
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37

Pundits whose currency is reputation, links, pageviews, sales and book advances might feel a pinch if any of those were affected. Whether they feel shame is between them and their consciences dark nights of the soul.

In many (most?) cases there is nothing shameful about making a mistake.


Posted by: James B. Shearer | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:27 PM
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37: TNH is speaking primarily as a professional blogger, I think, though I can't help but appreciate the point myself, as a mere political junkie. I got to his post through this, from Erik Kain, who's been doing some reassessment about his conservatism.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:29 PM
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Labor Day Earworm

(...with apologies for the odd aspect ratio--it seems there's no alternative.)


Posted by: Rah | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:32 PM
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Back to the OP, "in the full balm of" sounds like a time-honored expression, but a search for previous appearances suggests that Stanley just made it up.


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:43 PM
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43: I did the same search. If nothing else, I'm contributing to the language, I figure.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 9:47 PM
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41:TNH and PNH are over at Making Light.

Y'all got on me for calling him "Coates" but here is a reason. It's enough to drive me away from the Internets, just can't take the inhumanity any longer.


Posted by: bob mcmanus | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 10:27 PM
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46

"Stupifying" [sic], "mindless", and "buttery", but not "full"? Your contribution was definitely needed.


Posted by: Mr. Blandings | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 10:39 PM
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46: That pretty much gives me the free and clear to spend tomorrow saying, "Yeah. Not a big deal, but I turned a phrase yesterday. ON THE INTERNET."


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 4-10 11:25 PM
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Just read it and then clear your browser history. No one will know.

Updating Oingo Boingo's "Nasty Habits" in light of new technology?


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 09- 5-10 2:45 AM
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I am actually surprised that Shearer didn't argue that the miners were quite free to seek better employment elsewhere if they got laid off while buried, and therefore it's all right.
But I see he decided that McMeg trolling promised a richer more fertile soil.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 09- 5-10 2:54 PM
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TKM: I took steps. His ideas are really extremely strange.


Posted by: Alex | Link to this comment | 09- 5-10 3:57 PM
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I hadn't even noticed the stuff on non-elite ethnic Germans. The dude is really old-school. Also, another quote from the article you link to:

Die Lösung, die Sarrazin vorschlägt, ist erwartungsgemäß radikal und erinnert an ein Zuchtprogramm für einen höherwertigen Typus Mensch.

Jeder Hunde- oder Pferdezüchter lebt davon, dass es große Unterschiede im Temperament und im Begabungsprofil der Tiere gibt und dass diese Unterschiede erblich sind. Das heißt auch, dass manche Tiere schlichtweg wesentlich dümmer oder wesentlich intelligenter sind als vergleichbare Tiere ihrer Rasse.
Thilo Sarrazin
Was für Hunde und Pferdezucht gilt, muss auch für Menschen richtig sein. Immerhin würden neben "speziellen Neigungen und Gewohnheiten [...] sicher auch allgemeine Intelligenz, Mut, bösartiges und gutartiges Temperament usw. vererbt", was auch in fast jeder Familie zu beobachten sei, wie Sarrazin Charles Darwin zitiert. Da das generative Verhalten der Deutschen seit Mitte der 60er Jahre keine "Darwinsche natürliche Zuchtwahl im Sinne von 'survival of the fittest'" sei, sondern eine negativ gesteuerte natürliche Selektion, muss gegengesteuert werden.

Basically, as every dog breeder knows, various dog breeds have specific characteristics, and similarly human population groups have 'inherited specific tendencies and habits ... certainly intelligence, courage, good and evil temperaments etc.' And the policies implemented since the sixties have perverted the proper 'natural, Darwinistic selection through the surivival of the fittest'.

These are the 'truths' that this 'martyr' is bravely bringing into to the public sphere and being punished by the politically correct, Muslim vote hungry elites. Or so the Frankfurtter Allgemeine and its editor in chief tells me.


Posted by: teraz kurwa my | Link to this comment | 09- 5-10 5:24 PM
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by the politically correct, Muslim vote hungry elites.

But doesn't he get it? That behavior was bred into their genes.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 5-10 9:25 PM
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49

I am actually surprised that Shearer didn't argue that the miners were quite free to seek better employment elsewhere if they got laid off while buried, and therefore it's all right.

The buried miners should get paid for the time they spend buried. The unburied but laid off miners should get whatever severance pay is usual. The union apparently wants the government to pay both groups forever which is unreasonable.


Posted by: James B. Shearer | Link to this comment | 09- 5-10 9:53 PM
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