Alsson At Large

These are my footnotes to the collective consciousness. I think I'm the oldest person on Tumblr and possibly the only Conservative. My posts are mostly reblogs, often with reactions and rebuttals to Liberal nonsense I'm simply unable to ignore....

[alsson]

Curiosity

All my life I’ve been harassed by questions: Why is something this way and not another? How do you account for that? This rage to understand, to fill in the blanks, only makes life more banal. If we could only find the courage to leave our destiny to chance, to accept the fundamental mystery of our lives, then we might be closer to the sort of happiness that comes with innocence. — Luis Buñuel

[alsson]

NYTimes: Bankers in the Age of Bernie: Do They Need Camouflage?

[alsson]

Enjoyed this movie, but wondered why it skipped entirely the government’s huge role in causing the disaster. Not a single mention of Fannie, Freddie or the decades of government social engineering promoting the social benefits of home ownership, especially for minorities and low income citizens, which encouraged banks to abandon their lending standards. This is the inconvenient truth ignored by the director, but covered amply in the excellent “Reckless Endangerment” by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner. Still the movie explores the reality of a corrupt environment of fraud, deception and incompetence.

#thebigshort

[calumet412]

Untitled (Under the L), 1979, Chicago. Rene Burri

[obamadawn]

[alsson]

!

[dendroica]

Uber’s system enforces blind acceptance of passengers, as drivers are not shown the passenger’s destination or how much they could earn on the fare. While this could deter destination-based discrimination, and Uber markets this as a feature of its system, whenever Uber drivers accept a ride, they effectively take a financial risk that the ride will only cost the “minimum fare,” an amount that varies by city. In Savannah, Georgia, for example, the minimum fare is $5 for uberX, which drivers perceive as unprofitable, because Uber takes a $1.60 booking fee (formerly a “safe rides” fee) off the top, plus their commission of at least 20% on the remaining $3.40. That leaves the driver with $2.72, not accounting for any of their expenses, such as gas.

The Truth About How Uber’s App Manages Drivers (via dendroica)

We should repeal the law that forces people to drive for Uber. I can't believe an injustice like this has been permitted.

[radicalanarchism]

…The concept of “rights” only makes sense as property rights. For not only are there no human rights which are not also property rights, but the former rights lose their absoluteness and clarity and become fuzzy and vulnerable when property rights are not used as the standard.

Murray Rothbard (via moralanarchism)

[obamadawn]

[coolthingoftheday]

A derecho is an atmospheric phenomenon characterized by a straight-line storm cloud that is associated with particularly violent thunderstorms and sometimes even tornadoes.

[thinksquad-deactivated20190405]

Venezuela is on the brink of a complete economic collapse

The only question now is whether Venezuela's government or economy will completely collapse first. The key word there is "completely." Both are well into their death throes. Indeed, Venezuela's ruling party just lost congressional elections that gave the opposition a veto-proof majority, and it's hard to see that getting any better for them any time soon — or ever.

Incumbents, after all, don’t tend to do too well when, according to the International Monetary Fund, their economy shrinks 10 percent one year, an additional 6 percent the next, and inflation explodes to 720 percent. It’s no wonder, then, that markets expect Venezuela to default on its debt in the very near future. The country is basically bankrupt.

[alsson]

"Socialism is cool." I'm thinking of starting a new blog.

[theweekmagazine]

Padma Lakshmi’s 6 favorite books

[alsson]

I would not require her to read.

[radicalanarchism]

[psychotherapy]

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

George Bernard Shaw (via psychotherapy)

[alsson]

If I ever meet Michael Moore, I think I'll punch his ugly face.

Bret Stephens: Islam and the Radical West

[alsson]

Here you go, kids. Read and learn. Hard work, applied creativity, and originality can generate financial independence and extraordinary accomplishment. #TimFerriss. #podcasting

[alsson]

OK kids. Read this and follow the directions. Probably only a small percentage of readers will act on this life map, but those who do will be grateful to have found it.

[alsson]

I understand why he leans toward writing for TV these days. I don't think there has ever been so much really good stuff on TV, vs the movies where it's all about comic book super heroes.