@ Duck and Decanter

Disclaimer – Try as I might, I could not come up with a tie-in for this post to progressive Christianity, conservative Christianity or even Christianity (or religion) in general.

Last October the battery in my car gave up the ghost. I was irritated because my car was only two years old at the time and I think car batteries should last longer than two years. After replacing the battery I really got upset when I had to get a jump-start. When I took the car to the dealer I was told that the radio had a short in it. Cost of replacement? $600.00. The service rep. was rather apologetic about it and suggested that I look on ebay for a replacement. I haven’t really looked yet and probably won’t bother. Part of the reason for not bothering is that I have a mp3 player (an iPod knockoff) with a 2 gigabyte SD card and a cool set of noise canceling ear buds. I have since grown accustomed to not having the radio on when I am going somewhere in my car.

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The other reason that I haven’t been looking for a replacement is that I am tired of listening to all of the commercials that comes with the radio. A few months before all of the arcing and sparking with my electrical system I had been shocked to hear a paid program on one of the CW stations that I formerly listened to. Admittedly it was in the 5:30 AM to 6:00 AM slot but I was not (and am not) going to listen to the all the virtues of taking a vitamin supplement for more than 30 seconds. Especially one that tries to deceive listeners into thinking that they are listening to a news program. I was already fed up with the amount and length of commercials on the radio (TV also but I will get to that in a minute). After the second or third commercial in a row my finger always punched the tuner to find music. Do I need to point out that I do not listen to talk radio after my last post? So, I don’t think I will be looking to replace the radio in my car any time soon. Besides, if I get desperate, the mp3 player can also receive AM and FM radio stations.

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I suppose that ‘infomercials’ on radio should not surprise me. There are very few TV channels that don’t have them on in the wee hours – or on Saturday mornings. The amount and length of TV commercials is overwhelming. In November I timed commercials on several different channels. 15 minutes an hour seemed to be the usual with highs of 18 minutes not unusual. (I think the lowest was 9 or 10 minutes). Because of that I stopped watching TV last December and did not turn the TV back on until this month. I did watch about 15 minutes of the Super Bowl but you all know what that was like. I talked to a friend and he told me that commercials were the reason he bought TiVo with his satellite TV hookup. Even cable companies now offer digital recorders as part of their service. Fast forwarding through the commercials is even better that my method of hitting the mute button. I have to wonder if anyone is watching (or listening) to commercials anymore. It seems as if the ad industry is locked into an ever tightening destructive spiral. The more pitches, the less people pay attention which results in more commercials which results in fewer people watching…

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I tried to remember the last time I saw (or heard) of a product advertised that I decided to buy. I can’t remember. Nor can I remember the last time I even considered a purchase based on an advertisement. My aversion to ads even extends to the internet. I started small at first and now have an almost ad free internet. I was forced into taking measures when the flash videos began to interfere with being able to concentrate on content of whatever site I was visiting. At first I used the Microsoft task manager to cover whichever annoying ad was demanding most attention from my eyes. Then I discovered “Flashblock” for my Firefox browser. That left just the odd blinking text to block with the task manager (alt, ctrl, del). Then came Adblock. Wow what a difference. Adblock even has subscriptions (all free) to lists (that other dedicated web surfers have developed) that you can use.

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All of the no radio, no TV, and no ads have left me feeling somewhat out of touch. With the advent of March, I turned the TV back on. As far as I can tell not much has changed. I tried watching two different news programs in the morning and both times was so irritated by the frequent commercial breaks as well as all the “coming up we have…” blurts that I turned the set off and repaired to the world of cyber news.

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I suspect that I am not the only one not watching, listening or reading ads. I have been wondering if there is some connection between this phenomena and the economy. Ever since I can remember (all the way back to the mid 50s) our economy has been influenced if not driven by the advertising industry. What is going to happen if consumers like me aren’t buying (literally and figuratively) anymore? I think the tipping point may have arrived. Newspapers are going out of business (advertising revenue as the cause), phone books are much reduced – at least the “yellow pages” – no one is watching or listening on the air waves and all that paper in the mail goes directly to the recycle bin.

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I think I have been sensitized by Amy-Jill Levine and her take on biblical parables. I can think of a couple of non-biblical folk parables that might apply to our present situation. The ‘Goose that laid the golden eggs’ and perhaps the one about ‘the Boy that cried wolf’ might be about the advertising industry. For me personally, I like the Uncle Remus one about the briar patch. Could it be that it is the advertising industry and not me that is out of touch?

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My friend with the TiVo tells me that one of his favorite programs is Mad Men. As you know that show is all about advertising in its heyday. I don’t know because I have not watched it. Does he fast-forward through the commercials? Bet he does.

@ Duck and Decanter

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I read Paul Harvey’s obituary in the New York Times this week and was saddened to realize that I would never again hear his distinctive voice. I was also saddened that his brand of conservatism is quieter than it was during his life. It has been many years since I agreed whole-heartedly with his interpretation of world events but I could always appreciate his newscasts. I could also understand his bias and concerns. I am saddened and a little fearful that his style of conservative voice has been replaced by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and JD Hayworth. I give the link for Hayworth and not Limbaugh (if you want to know about Rush you should have no trouble finding out about him without my help) because you might not know that JD is once again a talk show host. He is a former congressman (Arizona 5^th District) defeated by Harry Mitchell. I volunteered to help with Harry’s election even though I don’t live in the 5^th District (that is my bias). I call JD “Rush Jr.” I hope that disses both of them – sorry my bias again.

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In the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s I often listened to Paul Harvey. I got started listening to him because a co-worker always arranged his lunch to coincide with Paul’s broadcast. During this period I can remember catching his broadcasts many times. Most often it seemed while I was traveling by auto in rural areas of the country. Because of this, rightly or not, I always associated Paul Harvey with small town and rural America, just as I associate Rush and JD with urban America.

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Tuesday, March 5, 2009, there was an article, You’re Dead? That Won’t Stop the Debt Collector, in the New York Times about collecting debts from the dead. In a similar vein, there was County spent nearly $13,000 pursuing grandmother’s $1004.00 debt in the LA Times. As I read these articles I thought about how Paul Harvey might have reported on these stories. I can’t be sure of just what he would have said but I am sure that he would have researched both thoroughly and then given a compassionate (if conservative) report on the stories. I can also imagine how Rush and JD would talk about the stories. For You’re Dead? That Won’t Stop the Debt Collector the theme (one among many possibilities) might be “of course VISA – or Master Card or … – has a RIGHT to pester survivors for debts”. For County spent nearly $13,000 pursuing grandmother’s $1004.00 debt my pick for the spin would be “BIG GOVERNMENT out of control”. It seems to me that Rush, JD, and others like them often forget the humans that are involved in such stories. Paul Harvey always remembered that people were involved.

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Maybe I imagine too much.

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But then again, maybe not. I like to think I and Paul are fellow travelers in this sense: I am more concerned about taking care of the ‘widows and children’ than I am the rights of large corporations that loaned money to people who have died. I am more concerned with a grandmother struggling to survive on Social Security and raising grandchildren than I am about the government wasting money (giving it to outside law firms) trying to collect $25.00 a month. I want justice for the survivors.

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What about justice for big corporations (and their share holders) and big government (by being downsized and losing power)? “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!”

@ Unlimited Coffee

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I read an interesting article, Islamic banking escaped crisis, in the Singapore Straits Times this morning. I am not sure you can read the entire article without registering so be prepared. The article was quotes by Indonesian Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, prior to the annual world Islamic economy forum opening on Monday. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Islamic country. A couple of paragraphs caught my eye.

Islamic law prohibits the payment and collection of interest, which is seen as a form of gambling, so highly complex instruments such as derivatives are banned.

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Transactions must be backed by real assets – not repackaged subprime, or high-risk, mortgages – and because risk is shared between the bank and the depositor there is an incentive for the institutions to ensure the deal is sound.

ST.com News, March 1, 2009

My first thought was: “interest is gambling?” Well, yes, I can see that one could take that approach. Supposedly the reason that banks can charge such high interest on credit cards is that there is risk. Although, I also note that here in Arizona the banks have reduced the risk by having amended the bankruptcy law to eliminate credit card debt from being cancelled. I don’t believe that any cards reduced the interest rates (until after the financial meltdown).

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My second thoughts were about how we Christians seem to have overcome our early prohibitions against usury. In medieval Christendom, kings and nobles usually borrowed money at interest from Jews. I have always thought that noteworthy for several reasons. Jews were generally prohibited from loaning money at interest (Exodus 22:25-27, Leviticus 25:36-37 and Deuteronomy 23:20-21 and also Ezekiel 18 and Nehemiah 5). But that prohibition was usually taken as only applying to fellow Jews. As for the Christians, apparently it only applied to those loaning the money not the debtors. Convenient for both sides, no doubt. The other striking part of this is that the despised Jews had the money to lend.

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In January I received a notice from Citibank that they were changing the rules on a credit card issued by them. The letter also informed me that I could “opt out” so I did – that very afternoon. Please note that “opt out” means that you cancel the card. You may have seen the news that the U.S. government now owns 36 % of Citibank. Here is a rather negative –if accurate – view of the transaction.

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Finally I thought about the concept of shared risk between the band and depositor giving the bank incentive to make sure that everything is on the up and up. Probably would not have as many defaults in a system like that.

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I wonder if Islamic banks give obscene bonuses to their CEOs.