Evil Empires
I’m feeling especially angst-driven today. As a result, I’d like to offer up my short-list of evil empires of the world.
- Wal-mart: Steal from the poor and then offer up sub-standard employment to the poor to keep up the vicious cycle of work to buy (and then buy again because the junk you bought breaks).
- Microsoft: If we consider that Windows has corrupted the minds of roughly 90% of the computer using population into thinking that their way is best, no further commentary is required.
- Auto/Health Insurance Companies: Insert your favorite one here. Ask yourself “why would an insurance company be in business?” Some of my favorites (who have screwed me over in the past) are Blue Cross/Blue Shield and State Farm.
- Auto Manufacturers/Oil Companies: So ‘in bed’ with each other that the technology required to move us into a cleaner tomorrow is at a near stand-still.
These are just a few. I’m sure I’ve made some people mad but I’m just in a bad mood today.
May 17th, 2005 at 1:29 pm
And you call yourself a conservative.
May 17th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
Oh, I am. I also understand your point. But there’s a point where monopolist and conservative split.
May 17th, 2005 at 2:38 pm
I think the most evil of them all would be the insurance companies. You’re screwed if you don’t have insurance (unless you never ever get sick and you never have an accident) and if you have it, you’re screwed, too b/c it’s so incredibly expensive and you still have to pay for the stupid things they don’t cover. I could rant and rave all day about BCBS and send my body into almost heart-attack state, but I’ll refrain. Insurance Companies = VERY BAD!
May 17th, 2005 at 3:21 pm
Maybe you didn’t quite understand my point after all. I also typed, but deleted, the following (because I thought it was obvious):
Don’t you know you’re supposed to hate the poor and the environment?
Your Internet Sarcasm Filter must be turned up too high.
May 18th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
Don’t be mad b/c I suck at using a Mac.
May 24th, 2005 at 5:46 am
I would probably add some “major food companies” to the list. McDonald’s didn’t decide to make their food healthier because they were concerned about their customers. They did it because of the bad press. Also, after reading some news about trans fat lately, some companies actually lobbied to not have to label the trans fat amount in foods. Also, if the trans fat amount is less than 0.5 grams, they can get away with saying it has 0 grams per serving. My Ritz crackers that I just bought said 0 grams of trans fat. However, they still have partially hydrogenated cottenseed oil in the ingredients. Plus, a serving is five crackers. Who eats just five crackers? If a serving was ten crackers, then they’d probably have to say it has 1 gram of trans fat.
May 24th, 2005 at 6:00 am
You know, Microsoft would be so much better if it offered a more streamlined OS. Why is it so hard for me to replace IE with say, FireFox? Why isn’t it easier to recognize and remove Windows processes that aren’t essential to what I want to do? I appreciate that they try to give you everything you want as far as software goes, but it should be easier to disable them.
In my opinion, Microsoft has gotten some things correct. I like how when I plug in my camera, it pops up a program interface so that I can easily access my camera. They make it straightforward in how I can disable this automated method to instead access the camera directly. On the other hand, why do I need third party software to do a direct copy of a CD? Windows can handle burning a CD, but not copying one? Shouldn’t they give me some simple option like they do when I plug a camera in?
May 24th, 2005 at 9:47 am
I think I pretty much agree with your list of “evil empires”. Wal-Mart, for sure!!
May 24th, 2005 at 5:54 pm
I would also add North Korea.
May 24th, 2005 at 5:59 pm
And seriously, what is with Wal-mart’s hypocrisy? I can’t buy a music CD with bad language. I can’t buy a magazine like Maxim because it is too sexual. However, I can buy a DVD with sex scenes, nudity, bad language, violence, drugs, and the whole works. I can also buy Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas where I can listen to music with bad language (within the game), kill people, have sex with hookers, and all of the rest. I just don’t get Wal-mart.
May 25th, 2005 at 2:22 pm
Hey Bryan, please send your email address to downtownjpbrown@yahoo.com asap.
I have something I want to send you. You’ll like it, I promise! Thanks!
May 28th, 2005 at 12:10 am
10 days with no new posts! I feel deprived. Give me some knowledge or a hack or a quip or a picture or a quote or something!! (I just updated my page a little, so now I can give you a hard time)
June 17th, 2005 at 11:25 pm
I don’t know if this is exactly an empire but the metric system is evil. Not on it’s own merits but because of what it represents. (Yes, I know that sounds a little whacky)
June 22nd, 2005 at 2:09 pm
Finally someone has quantified this! http://www.knowmore.org/index.php/Wal-Mart_Stores%2C_Inc.
November 5th, 2005 at 11:50 am
Zacks comment about Microsoft shows how they rot the brain. He likes Windows because its so easy to use. That is what they have done. they have taken computers which are an inheritly complicated machine and made them easy enough to use that morons use them now and cannot live without them. Apple tried this with the Mac. You know Microsoft succeded when you get comments like a suck at using a Mac. How can you suck at using something so easy.
Computers were cool before Windows.