Balanced Budget Amendments and Other Fantasies

On April 12th the House of Representatives voted down House Joint Resolution 2, a proposed balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment would have "prohibit(ed) total outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber," required a three-fifths vote in both chambers to increase the debt limit, required a majority vote to raise taxes, and required the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress each year. All of those requirements would have been waived if a declaration of war was in effect.

Speaking as a middle-class retired guy living on a fixed income, I understand fiscal responsibility. I understand that I need to balance my budget. After all, Real People go to jail over indebtedness, and cannot avoid their obligations by waiving them in the event war has been declared. And when was the last time you saw a corporation or member of Congress go to jail because of poor budgeting?

Riddle me this, Batman ... why do we need to amend the Constitution to force Congress to do its job? Hint: it's because they want cover to protect them from the fury they'll face from voters who don't want to face the pain of running the country properly. And what's the point of amending the Constitution when the amendment provides ample escape clauses?

Politicians, Republicans in particular, are always demanding a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. It's a safe public relations ploy. Amendments and laws are only words, after all, unless there's the will and the willingness to obey them. And it's clear that if Congress can enact one law, it can pass another to undo or avoid it.

Forget balanced budget amendments. Pass real budgets, based on sound and thoughtful national priorities, for a change.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Dealing with Assholes

I'm number 14 on the waiting list at my local library for a book I couldn't possibly pass up - The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal with People Who Treat You Like Dirt.

Author Robert Sutton defines an asshole as "... someone who leaves us feeling demeaned, de-energized, disrespected, and/or oppressed. In other words, someone who makes you feel like dirt," and goes on to theorize that there are two types of assholes: "certified" and "temporary." Dr Sutton suggests that we all have the capacity to be temporary assholes under the proper conditions*, while a certified asshole is someone who always treats people poorly, and takes pleasure in the misery of others. For an interview in which he spells out his theories of what assholes are and why they act the way they do, check out this interview on Vox.com - "A Stanford Psychologist on the Art of Avoiding Assholes."

In the course of my life, I've had to deal with some pretty despicable human beings who reveled in making my life, and the lives of those I love, miserable. Sadly, dealing with people like that is never easy, particularly when they can't be ignored or avoided. Nevertheless, Dr Sutton suggests that one of the best, if most difficult, approaches to dealing with an asshole is to "... simply learn not to give a s**t. Not giving a s**t takes the wind out of [his] sails." He won't change, but if you're able to ignore him as if he were an annoying insect, it can help you get on with your life.

My most annoying asshole, sadly, can't be ignored ... and so I'm waiting rather impatiently for my name to creep up the waiting list for Dr Sutton's book to get some other ideas. I'm willing to try just about anything that won't attract the attention of the coroner.

Suggestions welcome.

Have a good day, and avoid assholes when you can. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* This is true. I try hard to treat everyone well, and it takes quite a bit to wake up my inner asshole, but if someone is willing to go to enough trouble to do it, I'll gladly try to make it worth their while. The problem, sadly, is that a true certified asshole doesn't care about the feelings of anyone else, and I'm not sure that I could out-asshole a true professional.

Catching Up on the Junk

I've written several times in this space about the amazing amount of junk e-mail I receive (for instance, here and here), and how its nature has been evolving over time. But it's a subject that never seems to grow old (at least for me) ... I'm always amazed at how my e-mail address keeps getting added to some of the most weirdly inappropriate spam. Here - along with my commentary (in italics) - are a few examples of subject lines culled from my spam e-mail file over the past week (all spelling, capitalization, and punctuation are exactly as in the original):

Each year we encounter situations that simply require money - Other than eating and living indoors?

Get treatment options for overactive bladder - What a piss-poor come-on!

Release of Your Payment($5,000,000.00 - This was from "James F. Entwhistle," which is an odd name for a Nigerian prince.

You too can have sex longer than 5 minutes! Free Sample - If someone wants to send me a free sample of sex, it needs to be longer than that.

Simple Brain Fix - I'm afraid it's too late to help anyone this election season.

Give Hope to Newly Diagnosed Men - Were they diagnosed as women before?

Forget Fish Oil Forever! - I'm glad someone has finally invented a fish that doesn't squeak.

Get your eLoan here! - If I need an e, I'll just buy one from Pat Sajak on Wheel of Fortune.

This African Herb Can Increase Intimacy FAST! - I think that Nigerian prince has finally given up on the funds transfer scams.

Special offer! Over $150 value just $39.95 including 2 free beauty gifts! - Too late; that train sailed long ago.

Need help conquering addiction? - If it works with addiction to Twitter, I'll buy a case for Mr Trump.

Put an End to Premature Ejaculation - Now, let's not be hasty ...


Spam - an unlikely, yet interesting source of opportunities to shake your head in amazement. Do you have a good one from your spam trap? Leave a comment, along with your comments on it.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Screenjunk and Chartjunk

I’ve written a few times in this space about things that really get me cranked … about robocalls and other things; there have also been other posts in the distant past that I can’t find at the moment.

But I have yet another pet peeve to share with you … all the stupid, distracting crawlers and logos that occupy the bottom part of your TV screen when you’re trying to watch the news. You know what I mean … the “breaking news” headline about some cat stuck up a tree, the “weather update” that tells you to tune in at 11:00 for a weather update, the endless crawl of the stock ticker across the screen, and the spinning, pulsating logo of the station in one corner. AARRGGHH!! CNN and Faux News are notorious for these distractions, but every pretty much every news broadcast down to the local level is guilty. Here's an example , which in this case occupies about a third of the screen and provides multiple distractions:

I call this optical trash “screenjunk,” in a nod to what Dr Edward Tufte, one of the foremost authorities on presenting data and information, refers to as “chartjunk.” Chartjunk is what Dr Tufte calls anything put onto a PowerPoint slide that is not directly relevant to the point being made – company logos, distribution restrictions, unnecessary explanations, deliberate obfuscations, or unrelated advertising, for example. It’s distracting material that steals attention away from what should be the focus of your attention. Here are two particularly egregious example of slides drowning in chartjunk ...

This one, presented by House Republicans in an attempt to portray their view of the complexity of health care reforms proposed by House Democrats, is an excellent example of including unnecessary detail and unclear connections to confuse an already difficult issue:

Good luck with extracting useful, decision-quality information from either of these slides.

A related bit of annoying screenjunk is the ad for one show on a television network that plays on screen during another show. It’s tremendously annoying, particularly when the show you’re watching is one of your favorites, or is especially interesting.

Remember two famous adages: William F. Buckley's famous admonition to "eschew obfuscation," and the often-ignored advice to KISS - "keep it simple, stupid."

Have a good day. Say what you mean, without obfuscation and distraction. Everyone will thank you.

See you tomorrow for the next installment of Great Moments in Editing. More thoughts then.

Bilbo