Disqus - Latest Comments for geoffreyjames

Re: uexpress

geoffreyjames — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 01:11:48 -0000

Strictly speaking, that would make him a castrato not a soprano, but it wouldn't change the pitch of his voice.

Re: uexpress

geoffreyjames — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 12:02:39 -0000

"One situation only of the married state is excluded from pleasure: and
that is, a state of indifference: but as many of my readers, I hope,
know what an exquisite delight there is in conveying pleasure to a
beloved object, so some few, I am afraid, may have experienced the
satisfaction of tormenting one we hate." Henry Fielding

Re: Are You Clonesome Tonight?, by Amy Alkon | Creators Syndicate

geoffreyjames — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 17:04:33 -0000

IMO, staying at 3-star hotel is "roughing it."

Re: Can No Longer Hear the Call, by Annie Lane | Creators Syndicate

geoffreyjames — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 15:44:11 -0000

What an inadequate answer to LW1. While the advice makes sense in this particular context, readers should know that one of the major reasons that healthcare is so expensive in the US is that healthcare providers, including hospitals, are being rapidly acquired by private capital funds who are concerned only with increasing profits, even if it means patient care is inadequate. This investment pattern is one of the major reason that healthcare in the US costs so much money but has worse outcomes than in other developed countries. This degradation of our healthcare system will continue until profit is removed from the system.

Re: Man's Habit Of Enhancing The Truth Puzzles Wife | uexpress

geoffreyjames — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 23:28:29 -0000

Actually, he may not even know that he's embellishing. Memories are not like computer files or video tapes. The brain actually recreates the memory each time you remember it; remembering it in order to tell a story involves other parts of the brain. He may actually be remembering the story as his brain is presenting it to him. I recently discovered that a story I'd been telling for 30 years--and which I would have bet $1000 to $1 was 100% true, was actually quite different than the actual facts, as revealed in actual documents that I discovered. I could have SWORN I had it right and yet, unless somebody retroactively changed those documents, my memory was just plain off.

Re: Lead Singer's Showmanship Is Panned by Bandmates

geoffreyjames — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 14:55:43 -0000

Better movie for this problem would be "The Commitments."

Re: Parents Declare Their Freedom From Ungrateful Adult Kids

geoffreyjames — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 14:01:05 -0000

Stop watching and repeating provocative nonsense from Fox News. I know half a dozen adults who can't stand their parents because they've become part of the cult of aged umbrage.

Re: Husband Addicted to Game, by Annie Lane | Creators Syndicate

geoffreyjames — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 14:48:15 -0000

Apparently, the NIH has been compromised by having Trump appointees who favor religious quackery. Here's the real data: https://www.theatlantic.com...

Re: Husband Addicted to Game, by Annie Lane | Creators Syndicate

geoffreyjames — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 13:56:17 -0000

Again with the 12 steps? Success rate for 12 steps is in the single digits. Go see a specialist who will treat medically for obsessive behavior.

Re: Artificial Intelligence Still Isn't a Game Changer

geoffreyjames — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 19:03:30 -0000

Always 10 years in the future. Been that way since the 1950s.

Re: Caller ID Changes the Way Workplace Phone Calls Are Made

geoffreyjames — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 15:13:36 -0000

"While his fervent religiosity is laudable" ??? Why laudable rather than laughable?

Re: Well-Meaning Husband Is More Harmful Than Helpful Doing Dishes

geoffreyjames — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 17:18:55 -0000

Not wanting to eat off of plates that are crusted with dried bits of food isn't being picky. It's keeping yourself and everyone else from getting food poisoning.

Re: Well-Meaning Husband Is More Harmful Than Helpful Doing Dishes

geoffreyjames — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 17:16:06 -0000

When spouses fail to do simple tasks correctly, it's almost always because they don't really want to do them. Men are perfectly capable of doing dishes correctly; women are perfectly capable of figuring out how to work the 4 remotes. Claims to the contrary--and getting upset when "criticized"--are passive-aggression, plain and simple.

Re: Woman Wonders if Opposites Can Move Beyond Attraction | uexpress

geoffreyjames — Tue, 09 May 2017 17:02:55 -0000

I seldom comment on letters, but when my son was a toddler and riding in a shopping cart, a very large woman in a flower print dress walked past from the opposite direction. He said very loudly: "Her beautiful." The lady stopped and asked, "What did he say?" My wife answered: "He said that you're beautiful." The lady, tearing up, told my wife: "That's the first time anybody has ever told me that." Out of the mouths of babes, eh?

Re: Reign of idiots - NationofChange

geoffreyjames — Tue, 02 May 2017 15:29:53 -0000

Well, I hate to point this out, but the Roman Empire survived for 1,400 years, despite many incompetent and decadent emperors. (Some of the worst were at the beginning of that period.) If you're going to use history as an example; get your history right.

Re: Grandparents Don't Approve of Kids' Creative Clothing

geoffreyjames — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 13:23:57 -0000

From Jack Handey: " I remember when we were kids, one of our favorite games was to play "pirate." We'd dress up like pirates. Then we'd go find an adult walking down the street and we'd go up to him and pull out our butcher knives, which we called "swords," and say, "We're pirates! Give us your money!" A lot of adults would pretend to be scared and give us their money. Others would suddenly run away, yelling for help. We played pirate until we were twenty or so."

Re: A U.S. Government Hooked on, Obsessed with, Perpetual War - NationofChange | Progressive Change Through Positive Action

geoffreyjames — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 16:16:20 -0000

Not just neo-cons. The neo-libs, too, which very much includes the Democratic nominee. In my opinion, the US should stop meddling in religious wars. If people want to kill each other because they believe their imaginary friend is better than their neighbor's, let them. It will improve the overall intelligence of the human population.

Arguing the differences between Sunni Islam, Shiite Islam, Judaism and Christianity has exactly the intellectual heft and weight as arguing the merits of Star Wars vs Star Trek or Harry Potter vs Lord of the Rings. It's all imaginary and the fact that people are willing to kill each other over it is, frankly, insane.

The only thing more insane is that the U.S., which has a secular government under a Constitution that specifically does not recognize religion, feels the need to constantly get involved in these ludicrous squabbles, even though not a lick of cassus belli makes an iota of sense. All we do is make things worse and drain our own resources in the process.

Re: The Surprising Reason Why More Americans Aren’t Going To Church

geoffreyjames — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 11:15:12 -0000

I seem to recall that other surveys showed that evangelicals claim to be going to church more frequently than they actually do.

Re: Ark Encounter and Biblical Literalism - The Atlantic

geoffreyjames — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 19:02:52 -0000

Yes.

Re: Ark Encounter and Biblical Literalism - The Atlantic

geoffreyjames — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 18:33:27 -0000

Superiority.

Re: Introducing The Trump News Channel–Coming in 2017?

geoffreyjames — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 09:52:36 -0000

It's not the plan if he loses. It's the plan if he wins, along with suppression of opposition media. And he could still win.

Re: The Reference Frame: Negative rumors haven't passed the TRF threshold (yet?)

geoffreyjames — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 23:45:54 -0000

Lubos,
Since you're a publicist (according to your profile on StackExchange, you'll probably be familiar with Inc. magazine. I'm one of their writers. I'd like to ask you a very simple question about optics that I'm sure you can answer in 2 seconds. If you're OK with that, perhaps you could email me at gj@geoffreyjames.com.
Geoffrey

Re: Why Trump Might Win - NationofChange | Progressive Change Through Positive Action

geoffreyjames — Mon, 23 May 2016 14:56:52 -0000

Uh... "anybody" can do what Trump has accomplished. I don't think so. Yes, the mechanisms are available to anyone but Trump's ability to use those mechanisms effective are the result of decades of building his personal brand.

Re: Dragging Down the Department by Marcy Sugar and Kathy Mitchell | Creators Syndicate

geoffreyjames — Thu, 19 May 2016 00:43:01 -0000

Actually, LW1 is dealing with a very common problem that's easily solved. You segment the work so that "Joe's contribution" is separate from everything else. Then you complete the work with "To be supplied by Joe" everyplace that's he's failed to contribute. You absolutely refuse to help him do his work and you let the boss and the team fail until the boss deals with the problem.

The trick to executing this technique is in the setup. You hold a meeting when Joe isn't there and, as a group, assign him stuff that only requires individual contribution. Then you document all the assigned tasks (to everyone) and get the boss to give the OK to the plan. This is best done when Joe is on vacation or taking a day off.

Once the plan is OKed, Joe either has to deliver as assigned or negotiate to trade tasks. Either way, you've got him pinned to the wall. The only reason he's getting away with this is because he's being allowed to act as part of a team when in fact he's just malingering.

BTW, going to HR is a waste of time. HR doesn't handle problems; it adds bureaucracy. Expecting the boss to address the problem without your help is also a waste of time. If he were willing and able to address the problem he would have done so already. Ultimately, you may need to torpedo your boss, but that's another issue entirely.

Re: Donald Trump Disrobed (It Isn't Pretty…) - NationofChange | Progressive Change Through Positive Action

geoffreyjames — Wed, 18 May 2016 14:26:51 -0000

The idea that TPP protects worker rights is ridiculous. Yes, it makes statements about worker rights and requires some paperwork, but there are no teeth and no enforcement. How many times do these trade deals have to kick American manufacturing in the teeth before my fellow Democrats realize that they're not working as advertised?

The author of this article, BTW, completely misses the point of Trump. He is popular because he, like most of the country, is against trade deals that put Americans out of work, against expensive alliances that put American lives at risk, against immigration that lowers American salaries and against reductions in Social Security and Medicare.

The reason the Republican establishment hates Trump so much is that these are all core Democratic policies... or were until the Clintons and Obama triangulated them out of the party. They're trying to drag him back into the fold and we better pray they succeed because if the Republicans don't neuter Trump, he'll probably win the election.