Well played capitalism!

This past Saturday, congress ended unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans who were long-term unemployed. The longer you go without a job, the less likely you are to get a job. And, if you do get a job, it's going to be for less than you were making. This is true.

This is business. You can't blame an employer for taking advantage of an opportunity to lower payroll costs.  And really, since all rich people are now called "job creators" no matter what they do or don't do to create jobs, we really have to stand up and applaud them when they take advantage of such business opportunity- as long as it doesn't happen to us, that is.

Well now, what sort of selfish attitude is that?! I really question the commitment of anyone to God, capitalism and the flag if they are not willing to cut their own pay for business.

On Facebook threads where various outlets discuss current events, people have severe opinions on this. It sorta kinda depends on which site you go to but, even moderate sites can get a little harsh. It seems like a lot of people think enough is enough- take a job at McDonalds and don't even THINK of whining for more pay when you get there! You had your vacation, now get back to work! In some cases they're calling for suicides for those who can't/won't get with the program. Not a whole lot of that, mind you, but, enough to let you know we are a Christian nation. Point is. people are pissed. The same folks who crashed the economy by forcing banks to loan them money to buy homes they didn't deserve and could afford, are now- FINALLY- looking for work. 'Bout damn time!

You know what jobs they should get? The one's of every internet asshole who, despite The Great Recession, determined that getting a job was easy. You just need to take whatever they give you. Take their job. Tell their boss that you will cheerfully do their job, for HALF what they were making.

That might seem cold but, these people would have to step back, slow-clap, and respect your move. "Well played..." By their own rules they'd have to respect that.

Of course they wouldn't but, we already knew they were disingenuous assholes. They should respect this though.  It is doing whatever it takes to survive. It is exactly what you expect others to do. Others, who are not you. Others, that everything happens to. Not you.

I think that is the bigger picture of the teapublicans and their quest to end unemployment benefits completely. Pretty much everyone is expendable. We saw this happen in construction with illegals. It's tough to ask for more money when your boss can get a guy to do it for a lot less. I never understood why people embraced that when it didn't actually lower what they paid for a job.  The contractors profits went up as his labor costs went down and you paid the same. "Well played, contractor!" I guess?

I also never understood how people didn't figure this money-saving business acumen couldn't play just as well in the white-collar world. If you are currently paying someone $80,000 a year to push papers, wouldn't you save $60k by paying some desperate kid just out of college in a tough job market, $20k to push those papers? Is my math right? I didn't go to Math School but, I have toes when I run out of fingers.

Well, everybody thinks they are so special and valuable. Of course you can do the job better than that kid just out of college but, your boss doesn't care. The payroll savings is worth the price of admission, even if it isn't. Not all bosses are Math School graduates and many of them do think that two employees, both working at half the price of one employee make the boss richer, even if it takes them longer. They maybe went to Math School on football scholarships? Or played without a helmet?

They really don't care. And, they are glad you don't really care either...

First they came for the trade unionists....

SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER DAY: THE REBUTTAL

Today's special guest blogger is "Mikey " who often disagrees with me about everything.

We live in a country whose economy is so fragile, that people buying houses they could not afford, plunged the entire country into the worst recession since The Great Depression. The most brilliant Wall Street minds could not prevent that!

Our president- Kenyan born, BTW- is openly try to get the entire nation on welfare and will most assuredly confiscate all weapons, as early as tomorrow. (HUGE Dick's sale on ammo, BTW. Better stock up so the government hurts their backs confiscating that ammo!)

And in this nation, clearly a Christian nation as the founders intended, you can't even wish someone a MERRY CHRISTMAS because of pending Sharia Law or the ACLU or something! The point is, you can't have a Nativity scene, on city land and that means your house is next.

I could go on and on about Obama. Did you know we the people pay for his vacations??!! Yep! He flies on AIR FORCE ONE with his family and with Secret Service personnel that WE pay for! What the fuck??!! Bush used to drive his own self down to Crawford to clear brush on his ranch. Reagan stayed home with mommy. Sheesh. Stop the spending already!

What I'm trying to say is, Obama is taking away our light bulbs! We are having those CFL's (Compact Fluorescent Lights(?) not Canadian Football League as originally reported) shoved down our throats again. Not literally. Not yet.....but, ouch! That can't be good going in or coming out.

Did you also know that the government is SPENDING MONEY??!! They never did this when Reagan was in charge! It's become quite clear that they have been collecting taxes to have this money to spend. This development is in no way a good thing.  They take the money from middle class people and redistribute it to the poor people when common sense says the poor should pay something since they get so much free stuff. Like free visits to the Emergency Room and prison which has cable TV.

The point is (and I'm just alleging that there is a point because democrats will refute this) that we can make this our last annoying election if we just do the Christian thing and vote in ALL teapublicans in '14 and, of course, for POTUS in '16. It's the one sure way of eliminating the disgusting voter fraud perpetrated by democrats at a shocking rate of .0044%. We can eliminate that. Did anyone notice that Blacks- who had historically only voted for White candidates in presidential elections- suddenly voted for a BLACK Barack Obama in '08? Coincidence or racism? He was supposed to be a "uniter"? As if.  Look what he did. We were all getting along so well until he ruined everything.

We have got to take back our country now before Obama takes it away. That can happen as soon as tomorrow.

Whose life is it anyway?

These days many of us have two lives. There's the real life with real friends and family and all the usual trappings of reality I shouldn't have to tell you about. I'm going to assume you're familiar with all that.

But, many of us also have an internet life completely different from our regular life, by design and desire or just to be careful. The internet is a good place to be all you can be and to present a portfolio of having been there, done that. You know- bullshit. Just like real life bullshitters, only easier to do on the internet. Abraham Lincoln famously said: "Ninety percent of what you see on the internet is lies!" That figure just seems high to me. Maybe 70 or 80%? Abe was, perhaps, more cynical than I?

My life as a Ferrerman on the internet is far more chaotic than my real life. I wouldn't have anything to do with these terrorists in real life. They just wouldn't happen to me. I've married crazy before, worked with crazy before and certainly seen crazy on the street and in the bars. Crazy is better- not as bad- on the internet. It's safer anyway.

You don't have to suspend common sense to be on the internet, but people do. I've been around liars all my life so, I'm naturally a little jaded and suspicious by experience. I like a pretty avatar but, I'm leery of what's behind it. Most good looking women are smart enough to not post their actual photo on a message board avatar. It's just kinda obvious, ya know? A pretty picture usually spells "creepy dude" anyway. I know beautiful women in real life. None of them have to troll for men on message boards. Common sense dictates to those that are beautiful, don't advertise! Just like unattractive women don't ruin the fantasy by advertising how plain they are. The same should go for men as well. If you're going to post about about yourself being a God's gift to women that, blessed with an accommodating wife who- knowing your wonderfulness first hand- shares you with other females, don't post your picture. At least try to keep people believing that, yeah, maybe he IS a corporate-stud-lawyer on a Harley....

It takes all kinds to fill up the threads. Well, it seems like all kinds... Maybe five or six kinds?  I don't know but I keep meeting the same people over and over and over....

Track shoes! And you too!

Evidently credit reporting agencies are tracking the porn you watch. I guess they might see dedicated porn viewers as bad risks? Or they need suggestions for good sites?

Well, who isn't interested in everything we do? People get upset about the NSA and their interest in everything we do but, do they care about our porn choices? Maybe. Hopefully in a pedophilia vein or the trafficking of underage persons but, I don't think that the Credit Agencies are busying themselves fighting crime in their spare time. I think they are just busybodies!

Last week I began using a feature from Ad Block, those wonderful folks who keep you safe from annoying, internet ads. Their Ghostery service blocks and alerts you to tracking cookies installed virtually everywhere in this virtual world- even the Ferrerman blog.

Well, don't look at me! I didn't do it! Google has three tracking cookies on the blog. They are Google+1, Google Adsense and Google friend connect.  I don't know what they do but, I now know they do it all over the 'net.  As I type this, Google Analytics is showing as being found (but blocked) on this part of my blog. Google Analytics also showed up on Pornhub, which, you might have guessed, is a porn site. It's a rather popular, mainstream one at that. Interesting, but only two cookies show up there. The other one is "Doublepimp", found on 100 sites (porn). Google Analytics is found on ONE MILLION sites, like Reddit, Twitter and The Huffington Post. In other words, everywhere.

Facebook doesn't show any trackers at all. I thought there had been a couple. Maybe they gave up because they had been found out and foiled? There aren't any on my personal page. Your personal page might be different. I'll check....no, it's worse! I'm seeing 35 cookies! Just kidding! Once we go to various other sites, that's where the real tracking comes in. They want to know where you go and why. I was actually stopped by Ghostery  when, via Facebook I clicked on a cat video a friend had liked. It doesn't usually do that but, when it does, it gives you the option of continuing with or without the cookies. Who knew that cat videos exist to track advertising info? On a few other sites it did a similar thing with comments gathered by a site called Disqus which turns out to be a commenting service for some reason. I googled them and Wiki said Disqus will share your info with absolutely anyone. They'll follow you all over the internet and share everything you do everywhere else.You probably signed something somewhere at sometime saying in no uncertain legal terms that you were OK with that.

Topix is leading the league with sixteen (16) trackers, most of which are advertisers. They go as high as 18, at times. I recall in pre- Ad Block days being on a thread and I brought up the book/film "To Kill A Mockingbird." Within a minute or two the ads atop the page changed to places to buy  To Kill A Mockingbird related items. Spooky! Evidently they do this with your email too but I haven't experienced that. With the Ad Block I miss out on so much! And with the Ghostery I now know what else I'm missing out on.

It's awful that the government spies on us as they do, as we keep finding out from Eric Snowden and from Wikileaks. Is it any less awful that corporations do the same? The politicians want to privatize absolutely everything. They've pretty much privatized government, particularly over the last 30 something years and that helps them get everything else.

Remember the movie, "Dave", where Charles Grodin plays 'President' Dave's accountant friend? He looks over the books and says: "If I ran my business like the government, I'd be outa business!" Conservatives love that! You read imaginary people on the internet saying that about their imaginary businesses all the time.

Well, if you privatize government  and run it like a business, you get Stalin's Walmart. They've already got the marketing department going....

But, um, you didn't read that here folks!

Eyes Wide Shut

Special Guest Blogger Day returns with this offering from Special Guest Blogger, Ann Onymous:


Great insight, Ferrerman! I think the most obvious thing about Topix now that it's doing the fast swirl is how easy it's become to spot the ringers. The desperation is really showing and they're trying way too hard. I'd call them trolls but real trolls wouldn't appreciate their inclusion in the club, largely because most are far too boring.
Here are a few examples of this that any normal human being would realize is a farce, if not abnormal. Recognizing this would require the sycophants and those desperate to be part of a group to take a pill in order to tone down their ass-kissing reflex, but we know they're far too dedicated to do anything like that. We won't worry about the gullible. They choose to be lost.
Easily seen lately is the performance art of Billy R and his incestuously close twin sister Princess. Is there a day that goes by when they don't mention they're twins or that he's married? Because he is, and no one should forget it. I've seen them roll out their act with virtually the same lines on several forums, but most days it's just reruns on Offbeat.
Of course it's normal to have endless repetitive conversations with a close family member on a public forum! Who doesn't do that? (Nearly everyone?) That must be what makes them so special considering they've kept it up for years now. I'd have to get paid to do that.
These are salt of the earth good people. Just ask the ass-kissing suckers who believe and hang on their every word and jump to their defense like the trained monkeys they are. Of course it's all true! Of course someone running a "successful" business has all the time in the world to drone on about nothing for hours a day and even more time to brag about how many "lady friends" he talks on the phone with despite being desperately in love with his wife. Anyone who doesn't believe all of this is just jealous. (That's so much more convenient than admitting they're using logic, right Willy?)
When haven't we seen real life examples of all of the above? Why, I can think of a number of folks who manage all of that and more!
This morning the female twin chose to converse about real life things with her husband on Topix rather than use the phone like most of us would do, but then we're not invested in proving something to the Topix faithful. We're not there to perform. Take a minute to think about that. Or not, if you prefer to be hoodwinked and keep your Topix love safe from harm.
She says she knows her brother has at least three phones but still, it seems she prefers posting to him on a public forum. Topix conversations are just so rewarding and work really well for them? Actually, she probably has nothing to say to him after all the fangirl fawning she puts out daily. She's got to be thankful "Trina" (Cousin It) is more than willing to take over the stroking duties now and then. *Big Smile*
Step back from the Topix haze, people, and see this kind of thing for what it is. Watch how hard they're working to defend themselves, if nothing else. Some days their defense takes the form of bumping several threads and writing dozens of posts, and they do it while not caring! Can't you tell?
Wise up, folks! It's fake and meant to lead you down a path of sweet inclusion. That being said, the Blunder Twins aren't the only ones doing this. They're just the easiest, most obvious example. There are people just like them on other forums. These are people that work an agenda really hard and then disappear for weeks at a time, blaming bad feelings or trolls. They might say it's because of work, but better to leave with bad feelings only to reappear and start all over again. That way they can immediately begin soaking up yet another welcome from the faithful while doing their best to disparage their perceived trolls, who in reality barely give them the time of day.
It's all right there in front of your faces, but you have to not want what they're selling if you're going to see it for what it is. So, just how fucking desperate are you?

Anti-social Media

Dedicated non-readers of this space know that Topix has been steadily tumbling downhill like a load of misplaced socks, for a couple years now. Their business model appeared to be distinctly troll-centric. They seemed to be letting the inmates run the asylum, possibly thinking that this gave them control and erroneously believing the same and that it was also a good idea. It wasn't.

When I first visited the Chicago Forum in '08, that forum at least, was tied into the Chicago Tribune newspaper with all of it's media savvy and resources. With local and national news and sports, it was pretty damn interesting every day, offering something for everyone. The dregs had their advice columns to obsess over. Depending on the season there was always a yesterday's game to be dissected. There was crime and politics to fret over as well. It was like a digital version of the Trib and that was the future.

At some point the Chicago Tribune realized that and, like every other newspaper in America, created their own digital version of them self. In 2009 the Trib bailed and left Topix to fend for itself. It absolutely killed the Chicago Forum but I don't think the rest of Topixland noticed at all. It was probably business as usual on Offbeat which had always been a troll mecca anyway. And the thousands of small town forums that truly make Topix what they are, also carried on as per usual.

These days, everyone but the coolest kids are on Facebook. The cool kids might be on Instagram or something I haven't heard of and my nieces and nephews won't tell Mean Old Uncle Ferrerman because old people like him really ruined Facebook!  Every TV show has a page that fans can comment on. There are political sites galore. If you want to discuss it, it is there. You probably noticed that.

I understand, BTW, that kids think we ruined Facebook. If the internet had been around when I Was A Teenaged Ferrerman, I wouldn't have wanted my aunts and uncles on there with me. But, Facebook evolved into a world-wide, all inclusive media sensation because that made good business sense.

Topix opted to devolve into trolling for fun and profit. Mind you, these FB sites whether they are political or of some reality TV show are heavily trolled. The thing is, people fighting amongst themselves is not their business model. It just happens- and happens a lot- because people are basically assholes. I watched a video yesterday of a scientist at Chicago's Field Museum lamenting the bizarre, sexist comments on Youtube videos that she makes. She's just trying to educate people about dinosaur poop or something and nerds are hitting on her. But, people have been mean too. That's the internet.

It's ironic- fucking ironic, I must say- that the one thing Topix tries to do right is one of it's major handicaps. You can't swear on Topix. They have filters that kick out the common bad words and keep most posters from getting a post through with them. I think mods can over-ride that though or, people who are friendly with mods can get away wit a fuck or shit here and there. I see a lot of the usual suspects getting away with language on a fairly regular basis. It's amazing and amusing because I've seen people swearing on the NPR site. Any site really and I suppose you could complain but, no one seems to care. Like asking the nerdy scientist lady to wear more provocative clothing, it's just the way the internet is...

Fucking ironic indeed! Topix managed to get out-topixed by everyone else on the internet!

Topix is email with an audience. It's Princess Billy talking to his imaginary twin sister about how women adore him, hoping that people post back about what an obnoxious sissy he is. Topix is the Clique gang harassing a silly woman in North Carolina, hoping to  destroy her marriage and drive her off the threads. Topix is Sublime detailing his perceived life as one to be coveted by all persons who are- sadly-  not-Sublime. Topix is fake internet therapists infiltrating groups of posters for reasons known only to fake internet therapists. It is tribes, making war on Ferrermen and Hegel's and anyone who dares post with them. I would imagine it's a similar scenario on every podunk forum throughout Topixland. To paraphrase my old friend, AMC, it's folks puttin' on their fightin' hats. It's all about trolling.

The mods, like the Chicago Police at the 1968 Democratic Convention, are not there to create disorder, they are there to preserve disorder. There is less and less to preserve each day.

Well, I'm off to check my Myspace page! See ya there!

Minimum rage

"The minimum wage was never intended to fund a household!"

I checked the two most common sources of talking points- The Bible and The Constitution, and could not find anything about the intent of the minimum wage. I really doubt that Congress in 1938 invented the minimum wage "for teenagers" or had any admonitions about it not ever being intended for a career either. I think they were just saying that this (I think it was 25 cents per hour) was the least amount one could pay a non-farm working person. Twenty five cents. We've added a whopping seven (7) dollars to that! WOW!

Your grandfather managed to get by on 25 cents an hour and YOUR whiney ass complains about getting TWENTY NINE TIMES THAT!!!!

I'm surprised that no one has seriously used the grandfather defense of corporate thrift but, they have come close. It could have been grandfathered in.... They do cite that, before a communist minimum wage law ruined the country, our  forebears negotiated their own pay. By this though, they mean that they got whatever the bossman was paying. Don't kid yourself. It's teapublican's jobs to kid you. Many of them- ironically- do it for free! How 'bout that!?

I've been reading that Australia is enjoying a robust economy and that their minimum wage is $15 an hour. By the way, worrywarts, a Big Mac is only about 40 cents more expensive in Oz than here despite doubling the worker pay to make one. It can be done!

Ya know what can't be done in Australia? You can't get a job at Walmart. Because of the minimum wage being $15 an hour, no Walmart. Remember when Washington DC raised their local minimum to $12.50? Walmart balked at opening two stores and convinced the whore of a mayor to veto the bill. I only say he's a whore because surely they paid him to do this. I doubt the guy is a slut who did it for free. Anyway, the mayoral whore thought it would be a "job-killer" so, he vetoed it. And, DC got it's Walmarts. Profits were saved! Could you imagine the Mayor of Sydney lowering the minimum wage just to get a Walmart in town? Damn communists...

So, of course, it can be done. Internet idiots argue that prices will go up if the minimum goes up. Well, prices have gone up while wages have stagnated over the last 30 years so...maybe labor costs aren't the reason after all...

The minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation either. Most experts agree that it should be about $15 an hour. Well, shit- you can't just double something like that because Congress forgot regular raises for the people they (allegedly) represent so, you've got to ease into it. Cooler heads are asking it be bumped up to $9 an hour. The problem with that is conservatives think that is "too much"! In fact, every minimum wage since 1938 has been fought as "too much". For a lot of them, that there is a minimum is offensive. Never mind  wanting to raise it, they want NO minimum wage! They argue that you shouldn't want it either because it (and Unions) are holding you back. You can negotiate your own wage and do better than a minimum or the maximum that a Union could get you... They want to pay you more- they just want it to be on their terms... Just give them a chance....

They really expect you to believe that. Worse, I think they believe it makes sense.

If the best a McDonalds worker could hope for, working off the Dollar Wage Menu, because others were willing to work for this, was one dollar, would the price of a Big Mac drop in relation to that payroll savings? Would the price of anything?

Well, of course not. Here's how business works: Charge as much as you can, as cheaply as you can. That's it. That's capitalism. We had slavery in this country for over 200 years! When people wanted to put an end that, we decided to kill each other in a war! After the initial investment of purchasing an employee, you just had to feed them enough that they survive and, that was it. That's pretty simple labor costs. And though it takes time, you could actually grow your own labor force....

People are still bitter about that historical labor development to this day.

But, we've come a long way, baby, since slavery. We now pay people. We just try to pay them as little as possible. Not quite slavery but, you can see it from there.