Reason Gone Mad

Blog and Site Upgrade

2009-03-25T10:10:00.004-04:00

Hi folks ... just an FYI that an upgraded Reason Gone Mad site will be arriving sometime next week, along with an upgraded blog. In the interim, my intermittent and occasional posting here will become even more intermittent and more occasional as the old site is migrated to the new site.

Did you like my use of the word "migrating"? Did it sound all tech-savvy and stuff? Excellent. I do my best to distract and anesthesize people with lingo.

Speaking of tech-savvy, the upgraded site will (finally!) have proper RSS feeds and tools to let you easily share columns and blog posts/comments on various other sites (Facebook, de.li.cio.us, StumbleUpon, etc.) with just a click.

Did you like my use of the word "click"? Just wait until I start talking in my 1997 voice about all the "hits" the site is getting! Seriously, dudes: This Internet thing is going to be HUGE. (Once people hear about it, that is.)

Okay, back to CSS...

(Did you like my use of the term "CS...***---OOOF!!---***)

Jack Lorenz

2009-03-22T09:43:00.004-04:00

My friend Jack Lorenz died a few weeks ago. He was a remarkable man who touched many people with his warmth and humor. His life's work, as an evironmentalist, writer, sport fisherman (in all 50 states), and leader of the Izaak Walton League was summarized in this Washington Post obituary last week.

As another friend of Jack's noted, while touching on a bit of who Jack was, the obituary couldn't come close to capturing what was so special about him.

The outdoor ethics program that he launched at the Izaak Walton League has this worthy mission: "We must leave our woods, waters and wildlife better than we found them, and we must dedicate ourselves to inspiring others to do the same." Jack carried that banner with ease and grace, and he'll be missed for that and so many other reasons.

New Column - Toward a New Economy

2009-03-20T23:02:00.003-04:00

As we address the economic crisis, now is the time to move boldly in the direction of a substantially different kind of economy -- one that’s better for people and the planet. No joke! And that’s the subject of this week’s column.

I’ve been somewhat surprised that beyond a few news stories about how it’s suddenly “hip” to be frugal (oh, the irony!), the mainstream vision of economic recovery is that we’ll end some Wall Street abuses, green up a few things, but otherwise return to an economy based on nonstop consumption. (Fueled, no doubt, by ever-more-sophisticated advertising based on our ever-more-eroded privacy and delivered through ever-more-unavoidable digital screens.)

Which, given the stakes, is short-term thinking at its most dangerous. Yes, we need to get out of this mess, but is a return to an economy focused on growth at all costs really the answer? I think not, and I’m not alone.

This is a subject I’ve addressed in my writing in various ways, humorous and not-so-humorous, for a long while. “Too long! Shut-up already!” say friends and colleagues and readers and loved ones, obviously joking and actually wanting me to continue, using that old reverse-psychology gambit...

The White House Vegetable Garden (and Mine)

2009-03-20T22:34:00.003-04:00

This is great.

One of the nice things about living here in the farm country of western Massachusetts is the abundance of farm-fresh produce from late May well into October. I'm a member of a local CSA (community supported agriculture) that's just a couple of miles from my house. I can ride my bike over and lug home a week's worth of fresh vegetables. The price is right, the food is fresh and local, and it's fun to hang around the farm when there's PYO (pick-your-own) cherry tomatoes on the distribution list. Or just to talk to friends while our dogs chew on corn cobs and swim in the river nearby.

The farm, known as Farm Girl Farm, was started five years ago by my friend Laura Meister, and it's grown into a steady source of great food for local families as well as local restaurants that rely on FGF's remarkable tomatoes and other goodies from spring through early fall.

Shortly, with the help of a gardener friend, I'll be digging up a few square yards next to my house for the first extensive vegetable garden at Chez Shein. I expect to share some photos and stories here soon, because Lord knows, people who use the Internet are simply desperate for endless information about what everyone is doing at every moment. Am I right? C'mon, who's with me?

Speaking of food, if you haven't had a chance to read Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma," I recommend that you find a copy. (At your local library, if you can.) It's a well-researched and superbly written examination of how and why our food system developed the way it did, what the significant problems are, and what we can do about it.

For now, though, kudos to the president for this small step toward a more sustainable, local food supply.

Did You Say "Bets"?

2009-03-19T13:34:00.004-04:00

The dissection of the financial crisis, proceeding apace, is increasingly returning to the word "bet." Credit-default swaps are "bets" against what will happen to various securities and financial instruments. Short-selling is a "bet" about where a company is heading. A.I.G. made huge "bets" about what risks it could cover.

If we're going to truly overhaul our financial system, and how it's regulated, perhaps we should ask whether we want a continue a system that increasingly resembles Las Vegas, where making money from money, without regard to the underlying economy and potential risk to it and real people, is considered acceptable.

My column this week, coming soon, is called "Toward a New Economy" and suggests that it's time for a truly substantial shift to something different and better. It'll be posted tomorrow. You can bet on it!

Slip o' the Ol' Tongue?

2009-03-18T09:06:00.002-04:00

Former President Bush speaking about the book he's writing, choosing his words with the help of the good Dr. Freud:

"I'm going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there's an authoritarian voice saying exactly what happened."

Latest Column: "Please Do Not Reply"

2009-03-05T10:34:00.001-05:00

Do not, under any circumstances, reply to this e-mail. We're not kidding!

"Anything for a Buck" Gone Mad

2009-03-04T08:55:00.008-05:00

This morning's New York Times has a story about a firm that collects debts from the relatives of the recently departed. Read the whole (short) article. I started to excerpt it here, but you must read the whole thing. It's truly shocking, yet even the executives at the company make it sound like just another business venture.

It's hard not to see this as a sign of some kind of cultural sickness. Nothing's more important than money? It's okay to train people to talk to bereaved, often broke family members in a way that encourages them to pay debts they can't afford and in most cases aren't liable for?

Sad to say, but the phrase "a special place in hell" came to mind while reading about the folks who run these collection agencies.

[...] New hires at DCM train for three weeks in what the company calls “empathic active listening,” which mixes the comforting air of a funeral director with the nonjudgmental tones of a friend. The new employees learn to use such anger-deflecting phrases as “If I hear you correctly, you’d like...”

“You get to be the person who cares,” the training manager, Autumn Boomgaarden, told a class of four new hires.

[...] “In times of illness and death, the hierarchy of debts is adjusted,” said Michael Ginsberg of Kaulkin Ginsberg, a consulting company to the debt collection industry. “We do our best to make sure our doctor is paid, because we might need him again. And we want the dead to rest easy, knowing their obligations are taken care of.”

Knowing how much debt so many people are saddled with these days -- thanks to all kinds of unacceptable marketing practices and deceptiveness run amok -- my guess is that the dead rest plenty easy knowing that their outstanding credit card debt is being written off by a big firm. Just a hunch. (If you are reading this from the great beyond, please comment below and let us know if you agree.)

In the Fishbowl (DC)

2009-02-27T15:53:00.002-05:00

The folks over at mediabistro.com's FishbowlDC wanted to know more about my application to be the first-ever Presidential Jester... I was glad to answer their questions.

Latest Column: My White House Job Application

2009-02-26T12:16:00.002-05:00

I'm ready to give it all up to serve the president (and nation) in a vital capacity...

More Awesome News for the Banks!

2009-02-20T20:36:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone: Wouldn't it be swell if you or I could get big loans at just 1.5% to 3% interest? You know, to help us clear up all of our other debt that resulted from stupid things we did with our money?

Well, too bad. Only banks and hedge funds are going to get such a sweet deal from the government.

I wonder: If those taking advantage of this juicy new program make a late payment -- say, by a day -- will the Fed instantly increase the interest rate from 1.5 percent to 28.99 percent? Survey says? (SFX: Sound of the loudest, longest laughter ever recorded in human history)

Saved from the Memory Hole

2009-02-16T09:07:00.003-05:00

Back in 2001 when George W. Bush took over the White House, his administration immediately deleted everything on whitehouse.gov from the Clinton era. Attempting to find a page from before January 20, 2001 returned a pleasant little note explaining that all that info was gone.

Fortunately, the new administration has done the nation and the world a service by preserving all of the Bush White House's Web content.

Best of all? This important policy-heavy section still lives! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

New Column: "A Few Modest Proposals"

2009-02-13T11:03:00.001-05:00

After watching those bank CEOs in front of Congress this week, one thing is clear: We’re getting stiffed. (And then some.) To help set things straight, this week’s column presents a few, um, “ideas” for putting the people back in charge.

Question for the RGM Community

2009-02-12T08:46:00.002-05:00

So, is there anyone reading this post who doesn’t instantly and automatically delete an e-mail that arrives with the subject line, “Your February Newsletter from Verizon Wireless”?

Just wonderin'...

New Ideas for "Saving Newspapers" on Editor & Publisher

2009-02-10T13:09:00.002-05:00

The good folks at Editor & Publisher have posted a new version of a column I wrote a few years ago called "How to Save Newspapers." Check it out here.

Latest Column: The Unlikeliest Love Story

2009-01-30T10:21:00.002-05:00

It just keeps getting weirder and weirder, eh?

New Column - "From 1861 to 2009"

2009-01-23T09:59:00.000-05:00

Here's my take on all the Lincoln/Obama comparisons...

New Column - History for Sale!

2009-01-14T14:43:00.001-05:00

Need some (more) Obama-themed trinkets? QVC has got what you need, American consumers!

CitiGroup: The New U.S. Congress!

2009-01-09T12:01:00.002-05:00

Silly me: I always thought Congress made the laws, not huge mulitnational financial institutions. Oh, I'm so stupid and naive! I should never have studied so hard in my high school civics class, actually believing all that nonsense about a government "by the people." That's high comedy!

See, I didn't realize that before Congress passes a law aimed at helping Americans deal with the collapsing economy, and requiring big, greedy banks to do something about the crisis they created for all of us, it has to get CitiGroup on board. You know, the same CitiGroup that just got more than $269 billion in bad-debt guarantees, and $45 billion in cash, from you and me.

WASF, my friends. "Criminal incompetence" is a kind way to describe our government's efforts on "our" behalf.

Life Imitates 'Reason Gone Mad', Part 5,122,092,234

2009-01-03T15:17:00.003-05:00

So, back in November, in a list of "Last-Minute Bush Initiatives," I wrote this:

Pave Paradise 2009 — Allegedly to "stimulate the economy and create jobs," the president will soon authorize $1 trillion for a massive infrastructure project that will "clear and pave any remaining American forests."

Put Up a Parking Lot 2010 — An additional $500 billion will be spent to "create parking lots on all freshly paved forests."

Like so many other times during the past eight years, my intention was to highlight the cartoonish policies pursued by the Bush administration, particularly the U.S. Forest Service, which under President Bush has been headed by Mark Rey, formerly the timber industry's top lobbyist.

So I'm not sure if I should be shocked or flattered by this story in the Washington Post today: "Curbs May be Eased On Paving in Forests." (And no, it's not a link to a humor piece.)

Obey the law? Laws are for suckers!

2008-12-31T16:46:00.000-05:00

I belive this is yet another way of saying, well, Congress (and its pesky laws, however absurd they are) can go to hell.

Latest Column: Advice for the Banks

2008-12-31T08:35:00.001-05:00

A top-secret copy of the banking industry's latest talking points...

Latest Column: Troubleshooting Internet Explorer

2008-12-19T11:14:00.002-05:00

Why does your Web browser just "stop responding"? Some reasons...

Reason #1,878,912,165,238 Why We Need Full Public Financing of Federal Elections

2008-12-11T23:01:00.002-05:00

Honestly? I grow ever wearier of linking to stories like this.

New Column - "Jobs Programs We Need"

2008-12-11T12:15:00.001-05:00

What New Deal-style programs might the incoming administration consider to put America back to work? A few suggestions...