More than writing

Several years ago, my neighbor Tony and I were talking about a social issue. Tony is a good thoughtful man, and the conversation turned rather intense. In the middle of the conversation, I blurted out something like "I'm really concerned about that issue." Tony shot back," No, you are not concerned. If you were, you be doing something about it." He caught me flat-footed, and his words have haunted me ever since. I think Tony was right. If we care about something, we should be doing something about it, or at least trying to do something about it. Further, blogging about a problem is quite often not doing too terribly much about that problem. I'm don't mean to disparage writing, because I very much think that written information can change the world by helping people understand it better. But writing about things is a method that too often shows its limits, especially when it turns into ranting. And an especially annoying kind of ranting is when one rants to others who are already sympathetic to the cause. And the worst kind of writing is ranting to sympathetic audiences in ways that are mostly calculated to show off how much one knows or to try to draw attention an ostentatious writing style. So here's my resolution for 2011. Here's to doing more than merely writing, but actually trying to change the world in physical ways. And to the extent that I choose to write, here's to writing in a straight-forward way to audiences that are not quite sympathetic. And here's to writing that aims to get people out of their seats and into the streets. Here's to stepping out from behind my computer more than I have before, and trying to make a tangible difference. I will continue to take my writing seriously next year. I have lots of ideas bubbling in my head, and many of these are ideas inspired by cognitive science ideas that bear upon the fact that human animals so often live dysfunctionally. I will try to keep my concerns in stride better than I have in the past, because being too serious is not effective, and good humor can serve as a sharp blade that often slices through close-mindedness. Here's to the upcoming year, during which I will work harder to make my blogging process more connected and more relevant to the real life concerns I articulate.

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A Refreshing Retelling of a Classic Tale

As a story is passed along, it evolves. With the advent of writing, the rate of change slowed, but still continues. I was reminded of this by a delightful retelling in modern form of a story traditionally told in staid structure. Here is a chuckle-worthy modern take on the arrival of Jesus. As always, this vernal event is traditionally pasted over the older pagan winter solstice Yule festival. This retelling in modern paradigm also embraces the evolution of the Bedouin shepherds to Zoroastrian wise men to Kings, and somehow skipping l33tspeak but keeping the Renaissance garb. This tale is usually full of anachronisms and inconsistencies. But it still makes a good yarn.

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Obama Signs Tax Package: What’s in it for me?

President Obama signed the 2010 tax package into law Friday, December 17, 2010. This is the Act that's been so much in the news lately. Check out the TaxProf Blog's compilation of both technical and opinion resources for answers to questions like: "What's in the Act?" and "How will this Act affect me personally?" If there's an acronym for the Act's title yet, then I don't know what it is. Here's the official title:

“TAX RELIEF, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REAUTHORIZATION, AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2010”

It looks like a hard title to 'acronym-ize' into something memorable like COBRA, for example. COBRA (The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985), like the 2010 Act, changed parts of the Internal Revenue Code. COBRA denied employers tax deductions for health insurance premiums if the employer’s plan failed to provide for continuing coverage for separated employees. While I’ve heard many people speak of ‘COBRA coverage’ over the years, I’ll bet few of them knew their right to COBRA medical insurance came as a result of a change in the tax code. Check out the TaxProf Blog to find out what new, COBRA-like changes may be buried in the 2010 "TRUIRJCA". No! That will never do as an acronym for the

“TAX RELIEF, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REAUTHORIZATION, AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2010”

Continue ReadingObama Signs Tax Package: What’s in it for me?

Tell them or I will tell them

I seem to attract a certain type of person. Every couple of days it seems like someone tells me that they wish they could tell someone X but that they "can't." One or two good questions later it is clear that they actually could tell someone X but they would rather not. They would rather not endure that short moment of discomfort, even though getting it off their chests would give them months or even years of sweet relief. Instead of telling someone X, the typical complainer tells me that they can't tell someone X, and I it seems that telling me about their unwillingness to tell another person who really needs to hear X, they get a small bit of relief. But this bit of relief for them is at my expense. It annoys me to hear that a complainer won't simply tell someone else something that they need to be hearing. If this sounds nebulous, let me offer a few examples: "I can't tell my roommate to quit eating my food without paying for it." "The neighbor's barking dogs are driving me crazy, but I don't dare tell the neighbor to do anything about it." "My boss won't give me a raise, but I dare not ask him for it, even though it's been 10 years since I received a raise and I deserve it." "My 38-year-old child needs to move out of the house, but I cannot ask her to do so." "My husband is almost always 20 minutes late for everything we do, but I am unable to talk to him about this problem." "My coworker keeps hanging around talking and this keeps me from getting my work done, but she's very sensitive so I am not able to say anything." Bullshit. You can say something. You should say something. Anything that can be said can be said by you, and it could be said succinctly and with kindness. And if you won't say it because you'd rather complain to me about it, I'm going to start taking law into my own hands and I'm going to tell them.

[Knock, knock, knock]. [Door opens] Erich: "Hello. You don't know me, but I work with your upstairs neighbor. Almost every day she complains to me about your loud yappy dog. Your dog keeps my coworker awake, and it keeps her from concentrating on her studies. You need to do something about your dog. Do you understand? Good. I hope there will be no need for me to stop by again. Thank you. Have a nice day.
Doing this sort of thing is not difficult for me. Half of the advice I already give to people is to encourage them to go say the thing they need to say to the person who needs to hear it. Maybe I should monetize this service, charging the complaining person $20 to go say the thing that they can't say. "Bob, please stop calling Amy because she really doesn't like talking to you; you see, she's afraid to tell you to quit calling her." Or this: "Amy, Bob asked me to tell you to quit flirting with him if you don't want him to call you." Actually, rather than doing the work myself, it might even more fun to drag the complaining person along and force the two of them to talk to each other. You know, teach a man to fish . . . I'd do that service cheap, for $20 per occurrence, and the world would be better for it. Or does someone already offer a service like this?

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Statement by Julian Assange upon his bail

Julian Assange of Wikileaks, who is involved in a Kafkaesque ordeal, made the following statement on December 16, 2010: It's rather amazing how this interviewer doesn't want to understand the situation. Maybe she would get it if she had been accused of a terrible crime by the corporate news media, and her name had been smeared across the Internet despite the fact that the prosecutor never actually brought any charges or produced evidence of any crime. Maybe then she would get it. The interviewer also can't seem to wrap her head around the fact that Assange is likely being smeared by those countries and corporations that are being embarrassed by his devastating leaks of authentic documents. This is nothing short of Kafkaesque.

Continue ReadingStatement by Julian Assange upon his bail