Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Volunteer, unpaid firefighters, who receive awards every year for saving lives, are in trouble for engaging in “frat house” horseplay. Blah blah blah caught on tape blah blah blah underwear over head hostile work environment blah blah blah zero tolerance policy blah blah blah blah blah.
Ah, we seem to be split right down the middle on this one. Real people take the Officer Barbrady approach, noting these are the lads who might be pulling someone out of a burning house at 3 in the morning, for no pay…so feck off. And our bureaucrats who enforce zero-tolerance rules, intone in that boring nasal resonance of theirs, utterly devoid of passion since they can’t defend the logic behind the rules they enforce…but curiously, behaving in a way for which you need to have some passion…that fireworks are illegal in Maryland.
Okay, I think that’s fair enough. The law is the law, and all that. If you break it, it might be a good idea to make sure your buddy isn’t pointing a camcorder at you.
But one rapidly gains the impression that the manly hijinks are more of a central issue than the illegal letting-off of fireworks. In fact it’s somewhat ironic, I think, that legal manly hijinks are thought to be out of bounds — but if you damage city property while engaging in brittle, petulant womanly hijinks you get off scot-free. In fact, the city elders sit down with you, figure out what you want, and re-customize the road signs to your liking.
So…the hazing creates a hostile work environment, huh. At that rule against hostile work environment extends to firefighters, huh. Volunteer firefighters.
I think it’s time we admitted that whenever you have a squadron of hardy folks training for ongoing readiness to engage an emergency situation, you’re probably going to have hazing. If we have zero-tolerance rules that say that’s somehow not kosher, what we need to do is admit that in those emergency situations — firefighting, crimefighting, combat, toxic waste management, etc. — we aren’t really committed to making sure things turn out okay. Because if we were so committed, the message would be “you guys do whatever you gotta do, and get ready in whatever way you gotta get ready.”
I wonder whatever became of that mindset?
Now it’s act in such-and-such a way at ALL times…all hours of the day. Otherwise, make sure we don’t find out. And where are the lines? Oh, we’re not trying to get rid of any specific type of behavior, we just want more rules. It makes us feel safe. Besides, when your compliance with our new rules is a subjective thing, and everybody can have his or her own interpretation of whether you went over the line or not — you’re owned. We pencil-neck bureaucrats like owning things, so we figure ambiguity is our friend.
Makes loads of sense until your house is on fire.
Great video. Wonder if that “butt” guy got burned.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.