The One About Book Club: The 48 Laws Of Power: Laws 9 and 10

Hello again. Well yesterday we took a look at laws seven and eight, of The 48 Laws Of Power. Today we look at the next two laws, one of which is incredibly important for Progressives to start following.

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The One About Book Club: The 48 Laws Of Power: Laws 7 and 8

Hi all. Welcome back to The One About….'s special weekend feature, The One About Book Club. For those of you who are new readers to The One About…., let me recap for you. On the weekends I write in depth about a book that I feel is of significance to Progressives, looking at one or more chapters per post. For the complete introduction to the project you can go here. My pick to inaugurate this project is The 48 Laws Of Power. So far I've offered an introduction and overview of the book, and written about Chapters(or in keeping with the tone of the book Laws) 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 5 and 6. So I bet you can guess what comes next.

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The One About Tom Coburn’s “Under Cover Patients”.

One of the few Republican ideas brought up at Thursday's Health Care Reform summit that seemed to be really popular with both parties was suggested by Senator Tom Coburn. The idea basically is to have people go and visit doctors, and try to get them to break Medicare rules. I presume that if they created such a program for Medicare they would try to see to it that it was applied to Medicaid as well. It has been compared to the practice that many fast food restaurants and retail clothing stores have been employing for a while now, commonly known as "Mystery Shopping". This is a horrible idea for several reasons, and the comparison to the Mystery Shopper, is frankly weak and ultimately inaccurate. More importantly I have a suggestion that contains none of the yuck factor of Under Cover Patients, and could potentially play a significant role in changing the way that doctors and patients relate to one another.

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The One About Health Care, Doctors, And Misplaced Priorities.

Allow me to make a confession. I was being naive thinking that I had any hope in hell of managing to come up with a coherent analysis of today's Health Care Reform summit in time to have it up any time today. In fact I'm not sure if it will be ready before next week. But never let it be said that I don’t come through with at least a little something for my loyal readers.

Today's article comes from a comment that one of my readers at Daily Kos made in the comment section of my look at Obama's suggestions for Health Care Reform. He opined that he felt it was inappropriate for Doctors to ever have an investor interest in providing extra services. I said something to him in my reply, that the more I thought about it today seems more and more true.

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The One About I Calls Em Like I Sees Em On Healthcare(Obama Edition)

And we are back. Yesterday I took a look at some of the Republican ideas for Health Care Reform, and while some of them aren't bad, some of the ideas I have learned are already essentially being done, and others are pretty much pure bullshit. But surely the ideas that President Obama has presented are all wonderful right? Right? Uh, well, not exactly.

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The One About I Calls Em Like I Sees Em On Healthcare(Republican Edition)

Well it looks like it’s mid afternoon in Health Care Reform land. You remember Health Care Reform don’t you? That thing that some of the talking heads were carrying on was a dead thing? Yeah well about that, not so much. People might not completely agree on details, but the one thing that pretty much everyone who’s not a politician or a CEO Can agree on is that we are sick and tired of having to go through our days living in terror of getting sick. The system is broken and we want something done about it. NOW!

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The One About Better Protecting The Welfare Of Animals Is An Important Step In Improving Our Humanity!

(Stay tuned immediately after today’s article for a special announcement)

Every once in a while I get to read and share with you my loyal readers some genuinely happy news. This article in the New York Times, is a perfect example.

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The One About Book Club: The 48 Laws Of Power: Laws 5 and 6

Well here we are again. I wasn't sure at first if there was going to be an installment as for most of the morning my 'Net access was down. But here we are. Yesterday I talked about Laws 3 and 4, and now without further Apu….

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The One About Book Club: The 48 Laws Of Power: Laws 3 and 4

Welcome back to the special weekend edition of The One About…., known as The One About Book Club. Currently at The Book Club I'm taking an in depth look at The 48 Laws Of Power. Last week I offered an over view of the book, and delved into the first two chapters, or Laws. Today I’ll be looking at Laws 3 and 4, and tomorrow Laws 5 and 6.

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The One About Have People Confused Anonymity With Privacy?

I am an amateur semanticist. I have a great love and respect for words and their power. I do my very best to always choose my words with great care, to pick exactly the right word to express my thoughts. Therefore it is more than a bit jarring when I come across someone using words in a way that are objectively or subjectively incorrect. In some cases it's obvious and objective, like when someone in a recent comment on an earlier article about Obama's Business Week interview said, they didn't like his "polices" when clearly they meant to say "policies". But other times it can be much more subtle and subjective. I recently came upon such a situation in regards to the Internet.

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The One About I Do Believe In Fairies Er I Mean The Public Option.

One of the best known participatory moments in Western theater would have to be contained in the play Peter Pan. Almost everyone knows of it, even people like me who have never seen the play. Peter's fairy companion Tinkerbell, drinks poison meant for Pan and quickly begins to sicken and die. Peter exhorts the audience that Tink' will only get better if people believe in fairies, and that they can show this belief by clapping as loudly as they can. Well I can only imagine what it must be like, to sit in the audience and hear all that clapping, to feel the energy as for a few moments at least disbelief is suspended. In a few moments perhaps cynicism will reassert itself, but for at least a moment people do believe.

Well a similar moment is at hand for the public option.

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The One About Is Obama Naive, Or Does He Think We Are?

One of the things I take great pride in is the fact that I do not base my opinions on hear say. When I find a piece of opinion journalism, I always go back to the source the piece is based on. Every once in a while I'm tempted to slack off a little. Especially when the opinion I’m reading is one I agree with.

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The One About If A Native American Freezes To Death And The Main Stream Media Doesn't Mention It Did He Really Exist?

I'm the first to admit that I'm more than a bit cynical. But sometimes I really do have to wonder about the things that our government does, or more precisely doesn't do.

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The One About The Clintons Don’t Really Care All That Much About Health Care Reform!

Unless you have been hiding in a cave looking for Osama, you are no doubt well aware that last week former President Bill Clinton experienced some discomfort which led to him contacting his doctor, they checked him out, determined that he needed a couple of stents put in to supplement the bypass surgery he had a few years ago. He was in and out, and quickly on the road to recovery. At one point I was listening to a pod cast of the NBC Nightly news and some well meaning doctor is talking about how people should contact their doctor if they feel they are having a problem, even if it's just a mild discomfort, especially if they've had a major procedure in the past. As I was walking to check the mail listening to this, I snorted and rolled my eyes thinking to myself, it must be nice to be a Clinton, and be able to just get seen whenever you perceive a need.

Then a couple of days later something that had been niggling in the back of my brain came to the forefront. I can't say I'm surprised that people haven't spotted it. It is a particular challenge to spot the absence of something, and I'm the first to admit that even I don't always catch these things. But suddenly there it was staring me in the face big as life.

Bill and Hillary Clinton, really don’t care very much at all about Health Care Reform.

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The One About Book Club: The 48 Laws Of Power: Laws One And Two

Welcome back to The One About Book Club. As I said yesterday, we will be taking a look at the book The 48 Laws Of Power. Yesterday I gave a brief over view of the book. What it's about, it's publishing history, and my own personal history with it. So without further dippity doo let’s delve into the first two laws.

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The One About Book Club: The 48 Laws Of Power: Introduction

Welcome to the inaugural edition of The One About Book Club. The purpose of this feature is to introduce people to books and sometimes works in other media that I feel have something important to say to Progressives. The structure is very simple. The first post will be an introduction to the book. Subsequent postings will cover one or more chapters. I will offer a summary of the chapters, and my thoughts on the idea presented therein. I will try to offer enough information so that buying the book is not absolutely necessary, however it is highly advisable that you do so, as obviously a mere synopsis is not really going to provide you with all the nuance and detail.

Our first book is The 48 Laws Of Power.

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The One About The United States Must Be More Than The Sum Of Its Parts.

A reply by Conservative blogger The Bobo to The One About Once We “Take The Power Back” From Government What Do We Do With It?, got me thinking.

"Actually, what the majority of us real conservatives mean is that we want the government limited again back it its constitutional limits and give the power back to the states. The 10th Amendment is very clear that all powers not specifically granted to Congress in the constitution fall to the states or the people of the states. The power belongs locally – not federally. All these large governmental programs (Medicare, SCHIP, unemployment, welfare, education, health insurance, etc etc) are unconstitutional. Under the 10th Amendment – the people of the states decide what programs they want and whether or not to fund them. The way our government currently works – the federal government forces the states to take these programs on. Our constitution has been turned upside down. So – when we conservatives say we need to take back the power – we mean – follow the constitution."

The above statement is intelligent and concise. It also gives the clearest foundation for why Progressives have in the past, and continue, to reject Conservatism as a philosophy.

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The One About Let’s Get Something Straight About Healthcare, There Are Only Three Choices.

“No Government Run Healthcare!” This is a constant refrain from the Right. And it's catchy. At the same time most people in the working and middle classes aren't exactly in love with the Insurance companies, nor with the Hospitalization Corporations that are frankly "non profit" in name only. Yet some seem to be following the Right as if they were the children of Hamlin. The fundamental problem is that many people either do not see, or refuse to acknowledge a very fundamental truth.

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The One About Once We “Take The Power Back” From Government What Do We Do With It?

One of the things that I constantly come across looking at Conservative and Libertarian blogs is a call to “Take our power back from the government!” Which sounds so enticing and seems like such a great idea. The problem though is that it's not an idea. Not really. It's more like a notion. And it’s a notion that is based on a false premise.

The Fundamental Problem….

The fundamental problem with the call to take power back from the government is that strictly speaking the government is supposed to be us, and we are supposed to be the government. You know "of the people, by the people, and for the people…."? So strictly speaking what is being called for is to take the power back from ourselves?

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The One About Read This Now While You Are Still Allowed To Do So.

Well it's Angry Hour (TM) at The One About…. I recently found this rage inducing piece via Americablog,

"President Obama called the idea a “no-brainer” last fall, predicting it would take billions of dollars from the profits of private lenders and give it directly to students, and many colleges were already moving to get loans directly from the federal government in anticipation of the next move by Congress.

But an aggressive lobbying campaign by the nation’s biggest student lenders has now put one of the White House’s signature plans in peril, with lenders using sit-downs with lawmakers, town-hall-style meetings and petition drives to plead their case and stay in business."

This is the state that things have devolved to. Let me explain this whole mess very simply.

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The One About I’ve Got An Answer To “Why Are Liberals So Condescending?” Mr. Alexander, But You’re Probably Not Going To Like It.

In my regular patrolling of the Internet I come across a lot of Conservative writing that is usually at best based in a kind of Zombie GOP fantasy that insists people are poor only because they are lazy, that it is better to bring an unwanted child into a life of poverty than to abort it, and that government is always the problem and unregulated Corporatocracy is always the solution. At worst it is just plain bullshit. An unthink piece in the Washington Post this Sunday by Gerard Alexander is a perfect example of the former most definitely and the latter most probably.

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The One About The Start Of A New Feature: The One About Book Club!

I've decided to start a new feature here at The One About! A book club. Starting next Saturday I will be taking an in depth look at books relating to politics and current events that I think have a value for Progressives to read. I will be posting about these books on Saturday and Sunday. What I will do is offer a brief summary of a chapter or two (depending on the length of the book) and then my thoughts on the chapters. I’m hoping that this will get a dialogue going about issues and ideas and maybe stimulate some deeper thought in our community.

For the first selection I have chosen: The 48 Laws of Power. This book blends the writings of Machiavelli, Baltasar Gracian, and many of histories greatest politicians, celebrities, and con men. It offers a clearly stated law for obtaining or keeping power, examples of those who have followed or in some cases failed to follow the law, and what happened to them. Finally it offers a counter or reversal to the law if there is one.

I will be looking at two chapters or Laws per post, and will be offering my thoughts on which laws Progressives can make use of, which we do best to not use, and which ones we need to be aware of so we can defend ourselves better.

Below is a link to the book on Amazon. Now just so you know the link contains my Amazon affiliate number, and if you want to buy it through that I'd certainly be pleased as punch. But what's more important is that you get hold of this incredibly eye opening book. Get it from the Library, borrow it from a friend, whatever works.

The 48 Laws of Power

Image via Wikipedia

Well that's it for the Book Club until next week. I’ll look forward to seeing you all there.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

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The One About Quentin Tarantino Working Class Progressive Cinemas Greatest Open Secret. (Part Three Of Three)

Welcome back to the third and final part of a special series looking at the films of Quentin Tarantino and the Working Class Progressive themes hidden underneath their sexy, bloody, hipster exterior.

In part one, I looked at his earliest movies Reservoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction, discussing how they are at their core an excellent observation of working class life.

In part two, I talked about Jackie Brown, and Kill Bill, and how they added a celebration of women, and parenthood, to the still clear themes of working class potency.

And now we wrap up by talking about one of his least popular and one of his most popular films.

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The One About Quentin Tarantino Working Class Progressive Cinemas Greatest Open Secret. (Part Two of Three)

Welcome back everyone. Yesterday I took a look at the first two films of Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction and talked about the working class and Progressive ideas and themes I find in them. Today I’ll be talking about his next two movies, where he starts to add a strong pro woman aspect to his work.

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The One About Quentin Tarantino Working Class Progressive Cinemas Greatest Open Secret. (Part One of Three)

Well it's Oscar time again. And as usual there is a large variety of movies vying for the Best Picture award as well as countless others. Prominent among those movies is Quentin Tarantino’s most recent magnum opus Inglourious Basterds.

If you don't know who Quentin Tarantino is then allow me to be the first to welcome you to our little planet known as Earth. I hope you enjoy your stay.

Seriously though, everyone knows Tarantino, they know of his legend as a humble video store clerk with a passion for film. They know that his movies are glorious pastiches of all the movies he loves. He gleefully mixes genres, idioms, and more. In short the man is like a cinematic blender. He is also famous or perhaps infamous for the amount of violence, both shown and suggested in his films. From the ear slicing scene in Reservoir Dogs to the brutal scalping of Nazi’s in Basterds, with cold blooded shootings, slicings, and runnings over in between.

Everyone knows that Tarantino's films are glorious trash. Beautiful to behold, but with no more weight than the popcorn one consumes while watching them.

And everyone is wrong.

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The One About Netflix’ Deal With Warner Bros. Is Completely Fair And So Is This….

Recently it was announced that the video subscription service Netflix would be delaying offering new titles from Warner Brothers for up to a month. They did this as part of a deal with the company to be able to get older titles to make available for online viewing, and also to lower the per unit price for new releases thereby making it possible for them to have more copies and increase the likelihood that a particular title will be available.

Warner Brothers has been incredibly candid about their reasons for taking part in the deal. Namely the hope that with a delay in rental availability of new releases it will stimulate sales of their new releases.

All of this is perfectly fair and reasonable.

I know, I know, you are waiting for the other shoe to drop. You are waiting for the rant to begin.

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The One About Some Plain Talk About The Scott Roeder Situation.

There are a great many things that I am willing to accept fall into the realm of a "certain point of view". Where regards much in the worlds of law, economy, environment etc. Despite the way some people wish to act the simple truth is that precious little is as certain and absolute as people might wish it to be. There is however one significant exception to this. A woman's sovereignty over her own body. This is an issue on which there is no room for compromise. The recent Scott Roeder case and the reaction by some to the guilty verdict prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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