Blogcritics Category: Culture: Administrative

Honesty Online: A Modest Proposal

Mark Eden — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:46:55 EST

Is it time for an ombudsman?
Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all. It is not a figure of speech, or a witty saying; it is a literal fact -- very momentous to us in these times. Literature is our Parliament too. -- Thomas Carlyle Since 1841, when Carlyle wrote...

Bailout Rejected: World Doesn't End

Mike Johnston — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 03:33:48 EDT

We have survived the financial crisis of 2008 without committing ourselves to a higher mountain of debt.
We have survived the financial crisis of 2008 without committing ourselves to a higher mountain of debt than we already have. The morning after always brings new clarity to any situation and this one is no different. We have passed the crisis point and the stock market is recovering.If we look at the panic driven days in the last two weeks compared...

The Appraisal: One Source of Our Economic Woes

Baritone — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:10:54 EDT

The current mess this country finds itself in regarding the entire financial industry has many culprits. Appraisals are one.
Out of all the cacophony caused by the current meltdown of this country's financial industry, one of the sources in the grass roots mechanics of how all this housing mess came about has been largely ignored: The appraisal.In the past, until a few years ago, FHA maintained a list of approved appraisers who were given assignments by FHA, not the...

LA Times Blinded From Light Shed By Hugo Chavez

Mike Green — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:35:59 EDT

Los Angeles Times editors lambasted Hugo Chavez, failing to realize he was right. They were wrong.
Los Angeles Times: the blind informing the blind. LA Times editors revealed a sad epitaph in their September 15 editorial targeting Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s President Evo Morales. Indeed, the Times’ cynicism killed any serious analysis of what amounted to a charge of attempted murder levied against the...

A Question of Trust

Realist — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:32:32 EDT

We will again discover too late that we've been sold out for thirty pieces of tarnished political silver.
The theoretical definition of government is essentially a compact of behavioral rules formed among a group of people who agree to abide by these rules. In actual modern practice, few people are going to freely agree to abide by all of these rules, as they have had little involvement in their creation. Under such conditions, the majority of people...

When Everyone Is a Minority

Clavos — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:23:17 EDT

We must begin now to prioritize and start planning to deal with the coming changes in our population.
Non-Hispanic white children born in America today will be members of a minority by the time they reach their fifteenth birthdays, according to Census Bureau projections released today. The report projects that present-day minorities will exceed 50% of the child population by 2023. Said Dave Waddington, chief of the Census Bureau's population...

A Word from the Hawking Institute for Mathematical Fantasy

Christopher Hoare — Fri, 8 Aug 2008 07:01:16 EDT

The experiment that swallowed the world.
While the Institute decided not to initiate discussions about the unfortunate events at CERN near Geneva last week, in the interests of scientific objectivity we would like to set out some important observations for public consideration.First, science isn't an intellectual pursuit that proves theories -- it was well established by Professor Karl R....

Good News For the Constitutional Amendment that Ensures All the Others

Kenn Jacobine — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:50:08 EDT

There have been several positive developments for the 2nd Amendment recently.
There have been several pieces of good news lately relating to 2nd Amendment rights in the United States. By now everyone should be aware of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the 32 year old Washington, D.C. ban on citizens keeping guns in their homes. Florida has a new law which allows gun owners to transport their legally...

The Tale Of Two Assistants

Brandon J. Mendelson — Sun, 6 Apr 2008 20:26:33 EDT

So where is the better bang for your buck, with the real assistant or the virtual one?
Recently we brought on two assistants to work with us on an entertainment industry project. Both assistants are American, but one is an actual assistant and the other is a "virtual assistant". Our goal for the month was to compare and contrast how successful the virtual assistant would be to the actual assistant in getting tasks...

Are You a Blogcritic?

Eric Olsen — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:32:17 EST

The "sinister cabal" is always looking for fine new contributors.
Are you a writer? Would you like to increase your visibility, hone your skills, join a community of fellow writers, and reach a very large and growing audience? Then Blogcritics may be for you.Blogcritics.org is an online magazine covering music, books, film, TV, video, politics, culture, sports, gaming, science, technology, the Internet, celebrity...