Comments on: Privatization: what could possibly go wrong?

By: nrgmod

nrgmod — Sat, 07 May 2011 03:31:45 +0000

By: Historiann

Historiann — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:42:24 +0000

Thanks, all. I hope you had great Thanksgivings!

I’m appalled that your garbage was picked up on a holiday, KoshemBos. My usual trash day is Thursday, but it’s never picked up then–we put it out the following day. Being a garbage collector is extremely hard work.

By: KoshemBos

KoshemBos — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:41:30 +0000

In my “liberal” state, very Democratic but behaves as a southern state, garbage collection is a county responsibility. The county immediately contracts it out to a private company. Our truck showed up today because it’s our day. Treating people like the trash they collect is par for the course in our fucked up system.

Thanks given to my kids, one is a union organizer, grand kids, spouse and the memory of my parent, hardworking non-tenured great people that they were.

By: John S.

John S. — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:35:26 +0000

Notorious, I feel bad noting that we had a pie yesterday (green tomatoes and apple) and another today (squash). I am about to cook the soup, which shall contain a second kind of squash. Then cranberries and a yam and onion casserole. At the center of it all–a tofurkey bought at Trader Joe’s. Didn’t William Penn eat tofu at at American thanksgiving?

I too am thankful for the community here and–spoiler alert!–you are all thanked collectively in the acknowledgments of the forthcoming book. This may be the first blog getting a shout out in an academic book, but it is well deserved.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:04:09 +0000

The turkey is in the oven. Just have to shape the bread, reheat soup, cook brussels sprouts & stuffings, and we’re ready to roll. In addition to a job, family and friends, it’s great to have these places of virtual meeting…
Enjoy your day and eat well!

By: Indyanna

Indyanna — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:19:30 +0000

The wolf is in the oven here; well, actually though, the turkie is in the wok. The NYT today has a piece on the niche popularity of “Heritage” turkeys, which can run above $100 a bird, somewhat beyond my price range. New York State just allowed the first wild turkey hunt on Long Island (whence my clan fled a longtime back) since Gov. Winthrop, Jr.’s day. That’s about as heritage as you can get, but they weren’t seeing too many birds.

Anyway, Happy Holiday, one and all, and bless this honorable blog.

By: Notorious Ph.D.

Notorious Ph.D. — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:54:02 +0000

Do not taunt me with talk of pie.

By: Oroboros

Oroboros — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:12:31 +0000

Among many things today I'm thankful for your intelligent commentary here. Game theory seems to show how we benefit the most from a combination of cooperation and competition. People arguing for a true socialist state disregard the benefits of competition, just as people arguing for unfettered laissez-faire capitalism ignore the benefits of cooperation. Though I've been doing all kinds of work toward transcending my own dualistic views of the world, I find myself regularly framing our problems as a country in terms of freedom and responsibility. An overemphasis on the greatness of our country because of our freedoms has obscured the importance of the responsibilities that accompany them. The failure to accept personal responsibility by vast numbers of our fellow citizens has created a culture of blame that has missed the vitally important truth in this quote by John Burroughs:

A man may fail many times but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.

I also have a little holiday tradition in which I listen to or watch William Burroughs Thanksgiving Prayer. I'm not linking it here because some people will find it offensive and I definitely don't want to destroy anyone's holiday dinner with the family. It is on YouTube if you want.