On September 30, 2008 the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer aired an essay by Richard Rodriguez titled “Mexico’s Violent Drug War Wreaks Havoc on Innocent Lives,” in which Rodriguez characterized the relationship between foreign trafficking […]
Consumerism / Culture / Fashion / Philippic / Politics / Technology
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So Green, So With It
As an editor, I’ve always advocated for less paper, more recycling and digital delivery. I’ve always turned off my air conditioning, lights and power strips before leaving the office. I’ve recycled anything that could be […]
Consumerism / Culture / Dystopia / Technology
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Telephonic Purgatory
It should have been quick and simple, establishing a telephone account for a new place of residence. As Verizon was my existing provider, I saw no reason to take the business elsewhere. So I navigated […]
Class / Culture / Labor / Politics
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Temporary Life 3: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
Getting hired by a temp agency is relatively easy: make an appointment, appear in your second-hand monkey suit, fill out the application, take the software test, and discuss your resume with the “analyst.” Provided you […]
Culture / Labor / Technology
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I’m a Techy, You’re a Techy
About a year ago I bought a gadget that uses wireless technology to play electronic files and Internet radio through my stereo. Not a mind-bending idea. Receivers and transmitters have been around for over a […]
Art / Culture / Technology
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Porn: It’s Never Been So Pornographic
Porn has quickly adapted to an explosively facilitated Internet market by not only fragmenting into numerous subgenres that cater to particular fetishes, but by purging itself of what its audience doesn’t want, which is whatever […]
Consumerism / Culture / Politics / Technology
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The Cell People
A woman reading a book raises a gaze of exasperated woe. Next to her is a dude whose one-sided babble runs something like this: “Nah, ain’ fuckin’ that bitch no mo’…Crazy-ass bitch be fuckin’ Shafon, […]
Culture / Labor / Politics
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Temporary Life 2: Revenge of the Human Resource
For three years I remained a temp or, should I say, impermanent. To those for whom I worked I was as insignificant as the tasks they assigned. And when those tasks were done, I was […]
Class / Consumerism / Culture / Politics
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Liberty: Tied, Beaten and Blown
Awhile ago I was flipping through the New Yorker and saw an interesting cartoon: two men in uniform, guns trained on a pedestrian, behind them a van with “Fashion Security” on the side. The caption […]
Class / Culture / Politics
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Class War? Not Yet
On the October 14, 2005 Diane Rehm Show “Friday News Roundup,” David Corn of The Nation complained that the Administration’s policy to rebuild New Orleans as a tourist town would permanently exclude many of the […]