Which Rich Lowry is more starbursty this week, the one that wants endless war against “evil” in the Middle East, or the one that wants endless war against Putin in Ukraine?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Open thread.
Reader Interactions
71Comments
Comments are closed.
Karen in GA
All of them, Zandar.
/obvious
Open thread? Iggy keeps us safe. (More effectively than any ideas Rich Lowry could come up with, anyway.)
ETA: I look forward to the day when getting published in the NY Post is accepted by all sentient beings as a last desperate move right before your career officially ends.
Punchy
Does Tiger make the cut this ‘kend? ESPN wants to know….and will ask that question 1,592 times in the next 24 hours before it moves on to Lebron and the Red Sahx….
peach flavored shampoo
Having trouble understanding why I should care about Brian William’s war-story veracity. I thought most/all of us have long stop believing the shit that spews from his cake hole on pretty much any topic. How can this further damage a man’s cred when he has none to begin with?
kindness
What ever Lowry. Just do us a favor please? Don’t tell us what ever it is that is sending thrills up and down your leg. That is just a horrible, gross thought.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@peach flavored shampoo: Me too. If lying about this kind of shit is a crime half my Elks lodge is going to jail.
It’s not just him. He’s actually one of the least offensive news reciters out there, but damn, they do all lie.
As to endless war, well, that’s obviously what we’re getting for the next 10 years whether we want it or not.
I was born in late 1965, so I’ll be 50 in December. 50 years. My country has been at war, with American troops participating in actual combat operations, for at least 30 of those. And I’m not counting the Cold War, either. We have been at war in one state or another pretty much all my life.
Think about that. That’s fucked up.
Buddy H
Here’s my dilemma:
Wife turns 50 in a few months. Her dream is a trip to Italy. She was there about ten years ago and loved it. She went with a group of co-workers. I didn’t go.
I haven’t flown since 1999. It was a long flight to Hawaii. I was nervous the whole way.
She wants me to come to Italy. But the thought of sitting on a plane for ten(?) or more hours makes me extremely uncomfortable. Not a fear of crashing, but more of claustrophobia. I don’t want to disappoint her, she’s really looking forward to this. She deserves this trip.
Also, we’re financially challenged, so I know she’ll book the most inexpensive flight. We’ll be on essentially an airborne greyhound bus. I remember my last flight. It was so cheap, the attendants didn’t even bother to care about the safety speech. Just mumbled through it very quickly.
I suppose the answer is xanax.
BGinCHI
Stop reading Rich Lowry.
Problem solved.
Belafon
Which ever one he’s willing to volunteer for. Someone should ask him.
Morzer
Thanks muchly for mentioning the You Crane, Zandar.
I foresee Hodor in Portland rearing his head into our collective air space to retail the latest news on his Joe Biden: Fascist World-Tyrant fanfic.
John’s going to have to spend his last remaining quatloos to get the green spittle out of the carpets.
KG
started a new job on monday, so haven’t really been paying attention… but according to the Facebook, conservatives now want us to be more like Jordan where we publicly execute POWs or enemy combatants because a terrorist killed one of our citizens and/or the head of state/government personally flies an air strike mission to kill the bad guys. can someone explain to me again how it is they so love the constitution and American way of life? because i’m lost.
eta: and now off to the new gig
debbie
@KG:
Yes, apparently the King quoted Clint Eastwood from “The Unforgiven,” clearly a sign of manly manhood.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/02/05/Jordan-king-cites-Clint-Eastwood-when-expressing-wrath-.html
debbie
@debbie:
An interesting parallel: The King is in military uniform but doesn’t participate in the flights. Kinda like swaggering across a flight deck.
Howard Beale IV
Now it looks like Guitar Center is going to bite the Big Kahuna.
Elmo
@KG: And I thought we were supposed to hate Muslims and Sharia, also too. Isn’t the King of Jordan Muslim?
Who am I supposed to hate this week? I can’t keep track.
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
@Buddy H:
Xanax and as much distraction as you can pack into a carry-on: books, movies, music, whatever. If a window seat makes you feel less claustrophobic, make sure you get one.
Peale
>the on-and-off invasion of Eastern Ukraine that has seized roughly another 200 square miles of territory the last few months.It is a democratically elected government that is determined to make itself part of the West and is getting dismembered for the offense of replacing a Putin-style kleptocrat.< who was also democratically elected if I recall correctly.
Next up…I heard someone in Maylindofphilinam spat his neighbor's eye. Clearly we need to control the situation and its time to intervene. We must pick sides. We just must.
schrodinger's cat
@Buddy H: Travel in winter. Use a country specific travel agent. You could get a good deal for less than you imagine. International air travel hasn’t sunk to the level of domestic air travel yet, so I think your flight will be more comfortable than the one to Hawaii.
You could also consider flying to a big hub like London and then traveling by train/car to the continent. You will have many more flight choices.
MattF
Both. And don’t forget North Korea! And Iran! And…
Peale
@KG: Christ. Does that mean we have to elect McCain? I don’t know if anyone else has the flight experience necessary to be president.
Tommy
I could use some help/input. Talked some here about my business (always got stunning and insightful input when I do BTW). Things couldn’t be much better, but trying to really “button-up” what I do. I always gave out detailed proposals and estimates. Pricing clear. Same with how I work and invoice.
But now I almost have more business than I can handle, and at least one thing I did in the past, I can’t let go on anymore.
I do websites (also email marketing and social media) for a living. When business wasn’t so good if a client wanted to make edit after edit, through no mistake of my own, I did it 99% of the time. Now that is a burn on my time I can’t deal with.
For example, just finishing up a $1,900 project for a client. She couldn’t be happier.
She then says, “hey Tommy I wrote these FAQs I’d like added to each of these 14 pages.”
I was like “Lisa I can do that, but that is beyond the scope of the work.” She comes back I just want to make “edits to pages why can’t you do that.” I explain it isn’t as simple as you think. This happens again and again ….
It took 3.25 hours to do the work (I do pretty “cool” FAQs, not just straight text with the Q and the A).
Based off my hourly rate I told her it would cost $325, but I’d give her a discount on my hourly rate of 25%. She just keep beating me down, in an overtly polite manner, until I just said, “I’d rather just do the darn work then debate this anymore with you.”
OK, long story short I’ve trolled through the freelance sites. Looked at places like LegalZoom and Shake, but can’t seem to find LEGAL contract info I could use.
Does anybody know where I could go? Even better, and I am 110% serious, a law firm or lawyer (clearly I will pay based on the content of this post!) to get a contract like this written for me?
BTW: I almost hate posting stuff like this here, but everybody I know works in an “office” and can’t help me. I find folks here are often either (1) working as I do or (2) just smarter than myself :)!
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Howard Beale IV: You can thank Bain Capital for that. Bought ’em and saddled them with almost 2 billion in debt, which they cannot possibly pay off.
What’s really sad is that this will probably wipe out Fender as well. Fender is so sunk in GC that I don’t see how they can avoid annihilation. I think it would eventually end up wiping out Gibson as well.
Spent most of my life in that business, glad I’m out.
Karen in GA
@Howard Beale IV: Isn’t that another Bain Capital bust-out?
Buddy H
@schrodinger’s cat: Thanks for the reply.
Her birthday is in the summer. That’s when she wants to go. But your comment about international flights being better than domestic flights was reassuring.
On a plane, there’s no place to go but another part of the plane. That’s what’s driving me nuts. The noise, the weird pressure/ear thing, being crammed in like sardines for …. ten hours??
As I said, I haven’t flown in over 15 years. Do they have electronics for each seat? Like a monitor for a film, or headphones for music?
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Tommy: Don’t do this. Ever. Lose the client instead. And you’re going to lose quite a few, at least temporarily, when you stop doing free work.
I learned this the hard way as well, so don’t feel bad, but you MUST stop doing free work. It does you and everyone else who works in your field a grave disservice.
Good luck! Owning your own business is really the world’s shittiest job, but the freedom is awesome.
ETA: you don’t need a special contract or a lawyer, you already have all you need. You just ignored your own contract by doing work outside the scope of what was contracted for. Don’t do that.
Citizen_X
I don’t think a war with Russia would be endless. Matter of fact, I think it would be over pretty quickly.
And then years from now, everybody in Rich Lowry’s cave will tell him to shut up about this imaginary “Russia” place.
catclub
@Peale:
Crashing. fixt for ya.
Karen in GA
@Buddy H:
They did on my flight from London, along with a selection of films. I don’t remember what they had flying to Amsterdam and back from Copenhagen in 2011. I think it might depend on the airline.
You can do this.
catclub
@Buddy H:
Ever watch “The Matrix” ? That is how they plug you into your seat now. ;)
Citizen_X
@CONGRATULATIONS!: Ugh. I mean, my first impulse was “Fine. Big Corporate music store is going down, allowing more breathing room for the local guys.” (And I make all my big purchases from the local guys anyway.)
But I could see them taking down Fender and Gibson along with them. Ugh Ugh Ugh. Thanks, Bain.
Elmo
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
100% agree that a new contract will not solve the problem.
It’s like using your treadmill as a laundry hanger, and thinking a new treadmill will get you to exercise. No. You have the tool, but you aren’t using it. Getting a new tool won’t make you change your behavior.
catclub
This morning on NPR it did sound like war with Russia ( proxy war, but still) was coming.
Somebody pointed out that sending lethal weapons is only the start of the process.
Not the end. Never the end.
Josie
@Tommy: The advice from CONGRATULATIONS sounds good to me. If you wanted to make it clear from the beginning, you could add a note to your original estimate that any additions to the scope of the contract would be charged on a per hour basis.
Buddy H
@Karen in GA: Thanks. Do you remember which airline? I’ve read there are certain airlines to avoid, that the flying experience is hellish.
If I can pop a xanax and concentrate on watching movies maybe I can get through it. Don’t mean to sound childish, but I have a real problem being cooped up in the sky.
Tommy
@CONGRATULATIONS!: And I have done that a ton in the past. Not much recently. Don’t want to do it moving forward. Won’t! Why I was asking about a contract lawyer. I want people locked in.
What I want is a “locked in” contract so where they can’t say well my 14th change, cause I didn’t think things through and that guy I just met at a PTA meeting thinks our logo on the site should be larger, well I can kick them to the curb if they won’t pay me for the work.
Tommy
@Josie: I have that in spades. I want a legal contract. Saying it in my estimate is one thing, a legal contract another.
Howard Beale IV
@CONGRATULATIONS!: @Karen in GA: Yep.
Whenever private equity comes knocking at your door-run.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Citizen_X: Most of my “local guys” have gone out of business. Oddly enough, there’s three left in my very local area, all far too expensive to contemplate, all run by guys who married rich wives. But that’s not a normal situation.
The music products industry is in horrific shape (I’ve worked in three different stores, for two different distributors, and several manufacturers, so I’ve seen this slide going on for a LONG time from a lot of different perspectives). Have a look at Craigslist and eBay. There’s 20-30 years worth of used inventory out there, each and every piece competing with manufacturers of new gear. Even minus Bain’s rape of GC, I don’t see how they could stay solvent over the next decade.
The industry has not helped itself, put mildly. Overproduction, lack of investment, and stone-cold ignorance of basic business principles are the norm. I could write a book – and probably will someday.
Josie
@Tommy: If you have the customer’s signature on a proposal for a project with pricing, isn’t that as good as a contract? I know that, when I have work done (plumbing, electricity, etc.), they always ask me to sign the list of work to do with an estimate of cost. I assume that means that I promise to pay that amount for the listed work. Of course, it could be different from state to state.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Howard Beale IV: Not so. This deal worked out VERY well for Guitar Center’s owners and management. They all got paid some serious cash to sell the company to Bain. That’s how Bain does buyouts. Pays off management and then runs up the company credit card and leaves the suckers (that would be banks, who promptly get reimbursed by US taxpayers) holding the bill.
Shit, I’d probably have done the same thing. Wasn’t any other avenue by which those guys were ever going to see a big payday. It’s not like the business is extremely profitable. Quite the opposite if anything.
Bobby B
@BGinCHI: And stop watching all the “mainstream” Sunday shows The Corporation has inserted him into.
Tommy
@Josie: Yes.
Tommy
@Josie: But then you ask for another outlet. More stuff running off it. A dimer. Oh we’d like the light switch to be on the bottom not top. My problem.
cmorenc
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
I came of draft-eligible age right at the peak of the Vietnam war – and at the tender age of 19 went through the very high anxiety of having my whole future put up for grabs in the very first draft lottery (in which I came out a powerball-winner with birthday number #330 out of 365). I vividly remember witnessing the less-lucky among my contemporaries who drew numbers 180 or below (the highest number they projected might get called up) – scramble to find military enlistment slots (regular or reserve) of a sort likely to keep them far, far away from any exposure to combat in Vietnam or preferably, from being sent there at all.
It isn’t just the last 50 years in which this country has been at war of some sort more often than not. Here’s a comprehensive list, going back to the American Revolutionary War.
Violet
@Tommy: Offer a “maintenance contract” deal with the original work contract. That allows them to buy X hours of work per month at a lower rate. Offer a comparison chart. If they get the yearly maintenance contract they can get X hours of work for $Y. If they don’t get it the same amount of work would be $Z. Put in an explanation of what types of things would be included–updates to the site, new info.
The contract would include, oh, 5 hours of work per month (whatever seems reasonable to you). Those hours could roll over during the year so if they didn’t use January or February, they’d have 15 hours to use in March if some new bigger stuff came up.
This may be more trouble than its worth but it’s a way to talk about the ongoing changes of websites along with the original work, while letting people know changes cost money. When you do it, have a yearly fee–get all the money at once, not a monthly debit on a card. That’s too much hassle.
Don’t do the work for free. Your time is worth something, even if it’s just you reading a book or riding your bike. Your time, your choice.
rikyrah
@Tommy:
you can’t take on a temp, or a paid intern?
Josie
@Tommy: Then at that point you would refer to the signed agreement and ask if they are willing to pay the extra charge. It sounds to me as if your problem is not the lack of a contract but your unwillingness to confront the customer to stick with their agreement. If they continue to argue, you could politely ask them to get back to you when they are ready to pay the extra charge and then end the conversation.
ETA: Or what Violet said.
Roger Moore
@Elmo:
It’s actually quite easy to keep track. You’re supposed to hate Obama and everyone who agrees with him. The first part is easy to keep track of; it’s the second part where things change so rapidly.
Tommy
@Josie: Your analyis is maybe most accurate of all. Not an easy thing to do. About to do try it and see how it works.
Tommy
@rikyrah: Not really. Not sure I’d have the work.
cmorenc
I actually think it would be a great idea to resurrect the military draft as an effective way to chill the population from being so agreeably susceptible to fearful warmongering by members of the First Chickenhawk Fighting Keyboard Brigade such as Rich Lowry or the always-wrong Bill Kristol. It tends to dramatically change people’s perspective when they (or their offspring) are forced to put some actual skin in the game by being made tangibly vulnerable to being involuntarily drafted into possible combat exposure, as opposed to they (or their offspring) voluntarily electing (or not) to do so as a career choice or patriotic service choice.
I’d love to see Lindsey Graham have to actually lead a combat brigade into battle against ISIS instead of running his pie-hole about the alleged failure of leadership of certain folks to send other people’s kids into combat in that mess. FU with a rusty fork, Lindsey.
Peale
@CONGRATULATIONS!: Guitar Center’s former management are definitely hardly blameless. That dream of taking out every mom and pop music store and buying up every regional chain is what saddled the company with debt. I don’t know what happens next. I suppose if the manufactuers survive the interruption, people go back to buying instruments the way they had before. The “Best Buy” of music didn’t work.
Josie
@Tommy: No, it is not easy, especially for those of us who shy away from confrontation. I have learned how to do it after many years of giving in to people. I wish that I had learned much earlier. In business, it is an absolute necessity to draw your line in the sand and politely stick to it.
Tommy
@rikyrah: I’ve said it here. Both grandfathers in WWII. One a flight surgeon. HUMP pilot. I will admit at 30 or so after 9/11 I found myself driving by convenience stores not on the way home to enlist. Military brat.
It is fucked up.
People that have never served …… They should be laughed out of any political circles but they are not. I not have served but most of cousins have. They fly planes, Illinios National Guard. Two lost their wives over deplyement. Guess that is never talked about.
Fuck these folks!
Roger Moore
@Tommy:
I don’t think military service should be a requirement to be in politics. That would disqualify people like Obama and Clinton while leaving W and John McCain eligible, which would be exactly the opposite of what we want. What should be disqualifying is the hypocrical standard of being in favor of permanent war after having avoided the military when it was your turn to serve.
Mike in NC
@cmorenc: Lindsey Graham, in his capacity as a lawyer in the Air Force Reserve, saw much hard action on golf courses all around the world. He might have even worked up a sweat on a couple of occasions.
Violet
@Tommy: Did you see my suggestion? May not work for this situation but is a way to deal with the issue going forward.
Karen in GA
@Tommy: Actually, I don’t agree with you on that. The Commander in Chief of the US armed forces is supposed to be a civilian. In fact, my understanding is that the Secretary of Defense can be ex-military only if he or she has been retired at least ten years. Civilian leadership is important to the way America is supposed to work.
Origuy
@Buddy H:
They do on the flights I’ve been on recently.They also have a way to plug in your own electronics to keep them charged.
I second the suggestion to go in the winter, or late spring maybe. Just not July and August. That’s the high season. Fall should be lighter too.
Emma
@Tommy: Your estimate is essentially a contract, especially if you have it signed by the client.
However, something done by one of my library’s technology contractors might help. They specify the number of changes they will make as part of the contract. Essentially, once the design is complete, the client gets three chances at modifications. After that, there’ a fee.
SRW1
@cmorenc:
If you think more about it you won’t want that either. The soldiers in that combat brigade are other people’s kids too.
Roger Moore
@Emma:
It might also help to have a business manager to take care of some of those details. I assume that part of Tommy’s problem isn’t just a personal reluctance to say no but also a professional worry that being strict will hurt his relations with his clients. Having a professional manager to take care of stuff like contracts and billing would let him avoid that part of the business and free up time to do billable work.
schrodinger's cat
@Buddy H: I went to India this summer, Boston to London was a little over 8 hours. The layover was the worst part. From Boston to London, I flew by Delta by coach. The seats were leather and only two per row. Also had access to personal monitor, which I could use to watch movies and/or TV shows. Food was OK. There was also a power outlet for my laptop. I slept through at least half the flight.
London to Boston I flew by Virgin Atlantic, most of the flight was empty so I could stretch my legs and go to sleep. Seats weren’t as nice but the food was better.
trollhattan
@Punchy:
Having endured a decade of golf nuts telling me “Tiger is the best athlete [sic] of our time!!!” I’m quite comfortable with the notion of him taking off to spend some quality time with his money.
Also, too, if he two-times Lindsey Vonn worse things will happen to him than a golf club imbedded in his Cadillac.
Buddy H
@schrodinger’s cat: If I can distract myself with electronics and medication I might be okay. But I’m dreading being stuck in a plane that long.
Villago Delenda Est
@SRW1: Fucktards like Graham should be sent into combat. As privates.
“Go clean the latrine, Miss Graham”
Botsplainer
@Buddy H:
Nowadays, you get video all the way across. Power watch about four movies on demand – you’ll be fine.
alain
@Tommy
Longtime reader, occasional poster. But it’s my birthday so what the hay.
I’ve been reading your postings for months thinking we should talk,and since I’m a tech writer looking for work, perhaps I can help fill this or other voids. I think my skills might complement yours. Public email: [email protected]
Best, Alain
Ps, other writing/tech work inquires welcome.
Tree With Water
I tended 4 acres of grapes in Napa for a number of years (i.e., I cut the checks for the vineyard management folks and crossed my fingers). The first year was a bumper crop; the second, a good 7 tons less yield. It takes special people to make a go of a farm (people, not conglomerates), and I found out I wasn’t cut out for the crap shoot life. The following news would have scared me to death were I still tending to that business (courtesy Santa Rosa Press Democrat):
“..Record-breaking heat on the North Coast in January and early February, including last Saturday’s scorcher of 80 degrees in Santa Rosa that obliterated the previous record for the date and tied the city with one in Texas as the hottest places in the 48 contiguous United States, has resulted in the unprecedented transformation of some vineyards.
“It looks like March already,” Barwick said Wednesday as he gestured across the hillside expanse of vines, blooming mustard plants and thriving cover crops””.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@Tommy: I’m an engineer, but it’s the same line of work, selling your hours and getting paid for them. IANAL but I don’t think you need contract help. You’ve got to give your client a proposal with the scope and fee (and sometimes hours) and clearly state in the assumptions, exclusions and deliverables, that this is the product you’re selling. Then stick to it.
We go as far as saying we will deliver a draft document and two edits in the scope. Usually the procedure we’re using for analysis will be spelled out so we can’t be asked to do something more detailed or time consuming.
It doesn’t always work – depends on the job and the client, but it’s your first line of defense.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@Josie:
I’m an engineer, and it is in my line of work. There’s some general conditions as well, either ours or the client’s but a signed proposal is a contract, not just an estimate.
The correct way to deal with clients asking for other stuff is to send them a change order proposal, which they can either sign or not. If they don’t sign, you have to weigh the value of the client and decide if you’re going to do the work anyway. Sometimes I’ve done this, sometimes not.
Matt McIrvin
@cmorenc: The draft never impeded warmongering before. It only made young people pissed off, and then they got sent off to war anyway.
It’d only work if they drafted 70-year-olds and sent them into combat.