An annual tradition for over a decade! This is my list of ridiculous people from 2011 (so far). Pass me one of those rolls, please:
- The Greasy Gravy Award for oily publicity that makes the main dish inedible goes to
MordorNewsCorp and the Murdoch family for both the activities involved and the coverup. It almost makes one consider "Remember the Maine" as a paragon of journalistic and corporate virtue... almost. - The Red-Tide Oyster Stuffing Award for carelessly poisoning an otherwise tasty dish goes to the greedy landlords and MBA-think that killed Borders. If the landlords had not insisted on premium returns, and on getting premium returns even in bankruptcy, Borders would have survived to present a reorganization plan. That plan would have failed, though, due to the idiocy of management (both historically and recently).
- The Broken Wishbone Award for shattering dreams goes to Grover Norquist and "Americans for Tax Reform" for failing to understand basic economics, such as public goods, club goods, and negative externalities... not to mention original position. As Justice Holmes said, taxes are the price one pays for civilization. Looking at the nonsense in the Middle East, I'd prefer a little more civilization than a lot less.
- The Golden Gristle Award for assertions far too difficult to digest (and usually stuck in one's teeth) goes to Snow Reallyreallywhite and the Seven Dweebs — the Heffalump "candidates" for President — for a baffling combination of ideology, bigotry, ignorance, and
chutzpah(oops, I can't say that about Heffalumps, it's not christian) sheer gall. The closest any of these morons gets to economics is being economical with truth. - The Crabapple Pie Award for marketing something sour as something sweet goes to the Powers That Be who find the Occupy Wall Street movement so offensive that they resort to pepper spray on a college campus (really, now, is anyone surprised at protests on a college campus? In California?) and destroying the property of protesters... especially a library. This sounds an awful lot more like Tahrir Square in Cairo than Zuccotti Park in New York City, but it's not. Alles is verboten, dass nicht verbinden sind.
- The Brussels Sprout Award for stinky, slimy, overcooked, gentrified little cabbages goes to dictators of the world, and particularly theocrats... most of whom have been very busy indeed bringing back the worst features of feodality to the twenty-first century.
- The Dried-Out Breastmeat Award for overcooking the books goes to commercial publishing for its combination of antitrust violations and refusal to properly and fairly account for e-publishing profits to the content providers. Admittedly, this is nothing new.
- The Rancid Drumstick Award for something that should be edible, but isn't, goes to the NCAA and the big business — and big business corruption — of college athletics. Dammit, it's a university, not a minor-league feeder for "professional" sport!