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Rational 'round the rosey….Saunter 'round the glen..

Posted in Commentary, News, Politics, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on April 7, 2011 by B Schiff

Who believes in rational policy?  And upon whet rational rests your firm beliefs?  Are you the master logician able to leap tall buildings in a single bound with the strengths of your abilities to match premise upon premise with masterful conclusion after masterful conclusion?

Perhaps, as a modern day Sherlock Holmes, you are the master detective striving and gritting and smoking out the true holy premise upon which to base your true holy thought.

No matter.  In the end logic eludes and we circle and circle and drive dizziness to new heights. We delve into the minds of the masters of pious previous thought and the masters of previous pious power. They say always…be scared boy…be very scared.  Be frozen girl…be very frozen.  Accepted truths don’t have to be accepted truths.  They just need to be convenient.

From The New Yorker

The Tyrant Tax by James Surowieck

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2011/03/07/110307ta_talk_surowiecki

From Harpers

By Slavoj Zizek

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2011/04/0083351

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Talk always talk. Write always write. Degenerate always degenerate.

Posted in Commentary, News, Politics, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on April 6, 2011 by B Schiff

I know, I know….Anyone who distributes news and information has an agenda, is a mouthpiece, is annoying, bothers the hell out of people…..

Either they are old and moldy.  Fat and comfortable.  Puffed up, insulated and lazy.  Callous free loaders who are agent provocateurs.

They might be young and on the make.  They might be the wonders who translate events for a new news consuming public in a new news consuming environment.

We all have our favorites, our hates, our disposable clowns.  So much information.  So much endeavor.  so many brave and fearless scribes who comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable.  Who could be jaundiced.? Who can say they are not worth the prize of our attention?

Is journalism dead?  Is it better? Is it sincere?

It does brave the questions of our survival.

Two views.: one hand wringing, one celebration.  I’ll do both.  One for fun.  One in tribute to the solid stodgy set.

From The Columbia Journalism Review a month or two back:

http://www.cjr.org/editorial/beyond_the_facts.php

Roger Simon in Politico:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52523.html

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Statistics, Damned Statistics. Damned Lies

Posted in Commentary, News, Politics, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , on April 5, 2011 by B Schiff

One could be a long time follower of the deceptive crafts, a long time lover of the  of parochial crafts of the political operative.  One can be a long time follower of all of the stars of all of the games, all of the felons of all of the games.  The ribald, the antiquated, those with the endearing mouths full of fun and fancy, gibberish and noise …these make me proud.   The grand and the intense, the frolicsome and the tedious, the major harmonies and bittersweet songs of the eminently sincere….these make me weep.  The lure of  a molten train wreck……the stuff of legend and the lifeblood of the passing scene.

Statistics, Damned statistics, damned lies.  The godly rational saints give us all gusto and purpose.

Two examples of the world as it is lived.

Lynnell Hancock   Columbia Journalism Review

http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/tested.php

From The Economist

http://www.economist.com/node/18483411

It takes a lot to be sure of a lot.

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Men good and true.

Posted in Commentary, News, Politics, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on April 4, 2011 by B Schiff

Its hard to be continually enthralled by the news and views that are out there for splendid perusal.  The world is such a tough place.  The big players are so demonstrably sparkling and barren, jaundiced and hypocritical, universally good and admired.  A tough game life.  Played smartly by the fit and the survivors.  It is good to be a survivor.  It is good to be a winner.

First everybody’s favorite little tax story.  Look at the leverage.  Look at the competition for stateless entities.  And some don’t really like to game and trump the system.  All for the greater good.  Always and forever.  And smartness and toughness is no crime.  Let me in on the action.

David Kocieniewski in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html?scp=1&sq=David%20%20Kocieniewski&st=cse

From The Week Magazine:

http://theweek.com/article/index/213728/who-leads-the-war-in-libya

Surely there are rational informed people who understand international relations and the greater good and mutual respect and the concerns of men and women of good will everywhere.

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For the record……my about page

Posted in Commentary, News, Politics, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on April 3, 2011 by B Schiff

My aim is erudition, awareness, cynicism, waste of nonsense.  There is an abundance of the latter, a small smattering of the former.  My heart goes with the nonsense…it is the more accessible and mundane, the honored creed.  My gut goes with the former…..why not be a rancid bastard after all?

The books I am pushing…..

Dominance Games: An Essay on Power    A Novel

Lust Games: An Essay on Honor     A Novel

Void Games: An Essay on Revenge     A Novel ….. coming this summer

information and availability: eBooks etc

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bschiff

Print versions

Dominance Games: An Essay on Power A Novel
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1460916069/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.createspace.com/3563938

Lust Games: An essay on Honor A Novel
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1460925858/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
http://www.createspace.com/3565665

Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SHEV74

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SHEX0Y

Erudition, awareness, cynicism,  nonsense.   The latter, the former.  We get what we get.  We see what we see.  We stroke what we stroke.

…………………………………

More insightful information and commentary will be forthcoming

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How sweet the bottom? A hard charging, heart thumping drive.

Posted in Commentary, News, Politics, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on April 3, 2011 by B Schiff

More interesting ideas from idea land.  Power and sovereignty, private enterprise, public control.  The mind reels.  Day in.  Day out.   The mind knows that businessmen are doers and makers of growth and progress.  The mind knows that states and governments are encompassing behemoths who gobble up all air and do no earthly good.  But who has sovereignty where?  Who has power where?  What is a national boundary? When lumped together in a much larger sample, what happens to the mean?  Who runs the ball park?  Who owns the ball?

More on the race to the bottom.  How fast is fast enough?  How slow is not at all?  In the long run all is well.  In the long run, famously, we are all bye bye.  Where do we get to ride out the short run?  In the sun?  In the desert”  Under a rock? To whom do we all bow?  And how far?  And do we do it prettily, with some mild awareness, with none, or are we happy for the chance to look for more and more odious masters?  Or perfumed ones?  All in the perception.  Of course.

Two links on the state of today.    Always the state of today.

Allan Sloan in Fortune.

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/02/two-governors-two-parties-one-solution/

Michael Schuman in Time

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2059521_2059693_2059692,00.html

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My Introduction

Posted in Commentary, News, Politics, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on March 31, 2011 by B Schiff

My new little adventure……my new little blog……

Having declared myself a writer of note I now need to connect with all of those out there who would show utmost appreciation for my sterling endeavors….my books….my general info right now can be referenced at bschiff.com……my half done web site…

In the mean a reason for posting….

The clutter and anemia in information is startling and overwhelming….I have a few pet peeves about the way the world is perceived …and about the importance given to a lot of eminently sanguine approaches to information and opinions ad nauseam….My own two cents….For the sake of having something worthwhile to say

Start with these two posts from The Economist……

Suckers are born every minute…Those who play the suckers good get well…the rest get to stay suckers

Buttonwood:  Marx, Merwyn or Mario

http://www.economist.com/node/18443402?story_id=18443402

Where Life is Cheap and Talk is Loose

http://www.economist.com/node/18396240?story_id=18396240

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