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Jim Hightower
"You can spend your time agonizing or organizing." -- Dorothy Day
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Hightower Lowdown:
Big biz wants to own the information superhighway while We the People bump along the backroads
In the 1970s, Lily Tomlin developed an iconic comic character she named Ernestine--a telephone clerk who took perverse pleasure from hectoring customers. Her character was a perfect portrayal of the arrogance of AT&T, the monopolistic telephone giant of that day. In one skit on on the TV show, Laugh-In, Tomlin had Ernestine delivering a TV pitch for the corporation:
"A gracious hello," she cheerfully began, speaking directly into the camera. "Here at the Phone Company, we handle 84 billion calls a year. So, we realize that every so often, you can't get an operator, or for no apparent reason your phone goes out of order, or perhaps you get charged for a call you didn't make. We don't care!"
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The General Store
There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos
"I make a lot of money these days speaking to corporations, so I'd really prefer not to admit how...
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Swim Against the Current
The New York Times bestselling author and America's funniest activist gives the lowdown on...
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"The People Are Revolting! (in the very best sense of the word)"
With his aw-shucks charisma and no-nonsense attitude, he dishes out what's wrong with the eroding...
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Have a gander at the whole store here...
BEWARE: DHS IS AT IT AGAIN
Once again, DHS – the Department of Homeland Security – is showing why it’s worth the megabillions of tax dollars we pour into it.
DHS has funded an academic study to determine which U.S. cities are most vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Of the 132 urban areas analyzed, which one do you think is numero uno in terms of danger? Washington, DC? No. New York City? Uh-uh. LA? Not even close.
Get ready for a bombshell: It’s Boise, Idaho.
Yes, bucolic Boise – with 200,000 easy-going residents, a western outdoorsy ambience, and a skyline that tops out at 20 stories. As the director of The Boise visitors bureau put it: “Is this a typo or what?”
The Washington Post reports that the study is the product of four years of work by three professors using a series of mathematical formulas. The researchers examined not whether Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda allies would want to attack a particular city, but rather, if they did, how well the place could withstand the attack. Geophysical hazards ranked high in the professors’ formulations, so Boise’s vulnerability to wildfires and floods apparently earned it the top ranking. Just light one match, said the lead professor, “and you’re all set.”
Of course, since this is a DHS product, the rankings were conveniently color-coded – green for the least vulnerable, yellow for those at middling risk, and on up to red for… well, for Boise. Still, locals are puzzled by their sudden star turn in the national security game. Indeed, a sales person down at the Fancy Pants boutique said, “I’m less scared than I am confused.” Well, yeah, and imagine how confused folks are in New York and Washington!
Meanwhile, our stalwarts at DHS are not saying how much money this terrorism study cost us taxpayers. I’m sure they think that information would aid the terrorists.