Knowledge is Power! (The Strategy-Optional Approach)
Wow, I feel more powerful already.
Why There Aren’t Any Jokes About Regulatory Agencies
OK, here’s a joke about a regulatory agency, as told by the corporate manager of a big polluting factory. He says…So, I’m in my office one day and the Man from EPA comes in and slams down a huge stack of papers, saying — You’ve got 22,221 violations, and you better do something about them …
Why There Aren’t Any Jokes About Regulatory Agencies Read More »
Groundhog Day for Obamacare: Back to the Supremes
Like small-town mayors across the nation on Groundhog Day, the Supreme Court will get to make the call on whether Obamacare casts a shadow. The Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) is again on its way to the Court for further review, as they say in the NFL. Its future is on the line, but …
Groundhog Day for Obamacare: Back to the Supremes Read More »
Let’s Get Smart About ALEC
Gather a bundle of your inkiest exclamation points to put at the end of the next sentence. An outfit called ALEC, funded by wealthy right-wing ideologues, has put together a collection of model laws that they like, and is trying to get legislatures to pass them!!!!!
Making a Federal Case Out of It
“Don’t make a federal case out of it.” I used the phrase countless times without understanding its origin. But it turns out it’s full right up to the post-hoc-ergo-propter-hoc with historical significance: lessons about corporations, democracy and local control–what you might call community rights. Take the train-hits-cow cases. Railroads began a rapid expansion in the …
A Corporate Anthropologist Walks Into a Blog…
There are two kinds of corporate anthropologists. First, the kind that works for corporations and gets paid. I’m the other kind. The first kind works for and with corporations to increase worker productivity, advise what color greeting card to send a Chinese executive, or figure out how to sell personal hygiene products to Mayan grandmothers. …
Is Citizens United Focus a Good Use of Our Time? (2014)
Such a comforting thought—that overturning a single court case can resolve some of society’s biggest problems. With Citizens United, the idea seems to be that huge strides could be made by reversing it, thereby “getting the money out of” elections. It’s our current version of the “silver bullet” myth of old. Kind of like thinking …
Is Citizens United Focus a Good Use of Our Time? (2014) Read More »