Concept of the Day: The Abilene Paradox
The Abilene Paradox has been an important concept to understand in business culture and has been around for a while, but what we’re seeing with a fast collapse of left-wing ideology and in popularity of the Obama government may be best understood using it as well, noted by the Ace of Spades blog.
In brief, the Abilene Paradox is when a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of any of the individuals in the group…each member mistakenly believes that their beliefs are counter to the group so no one raises objections.
It’s how totalitarian governments or institutions such as slavery stay in place so well, the information the people are given leads them to believe their views are not shared by a large group of people so they stay silent and in line.
In today’s society it works more that people assume, because of the media, their views are in the minority, and they don’t want to “rock the boat” and be called a racist, homophobe, islamophobe, etc. etc. so they keep to themselves.
This paradox falls apart when unexpected people begin to speak out in a prominent way (then you then start to get a cascading effect). When a Republican speaks out against Obama or illegal immigration or ObamaCare - no big deal, but when others begin to — that’s when it starts to break down (See former Obama supporter Mort Zuckerman’s “The Most Fiscally Irresponsible Government Ever“).
Bottom line – understand what you believe, why you believe it, and speak your opinion, without worrying about “rocking the boat.” It’s likely you’re not alone.
Netflix Comes to the iPhone
I’ve got Netflix. I’ve got iPhone. You probably do too. Well today is a day of happiness as the free app now allows you to watch streaming videos in the palm of your hand. On a really tiny screen that drains your battery.
A cool concept, but how does it play out? Download it for yourself, or check out Gizmodo’s stellar review of the new app. So exit question – even if it’s great…is watching movies all the time really yet another good thing to add to our deteriorating attention spans and lack of being wherever we physically are at any given moment?
- Here’s how Netflix streaming works on my 3GS: silky smooth over Wi-Fi, gimped over 3G. And I’m way more relieved about the former than I am concerned about the latter. Streaming video over 3G has always been untenable; I’m just glad they even offer up the option. But the interface is easy, the video is clear and crisp enough to make dream of retina displays, and it played back the first five twenty minutes of Futurama: Bender’s Game.
Can I fawn some more? I’d like to if you’ve got a minute. But not just about Netflix on the iPhone. That’s just one slice of the pie. It’s been on the iPad for months. It looks like it’ll be gorgeous on Windows Phone 7. Android can’t be far behind (right?). Then throw in WiMax and LTE speeds. Maybe a future in which studios embrace broad distribution instead of fight it—or Netflix pays up for earlier distribution rights, given how much money they save streaming rather than shipping. That’s when we can watch whatever we want, whenever we want, wherever we want. That’s the dream. And we’re so close.
Why College Football is Better than NFL
Now here’s a bitter rivalry that happens every year that no one’s ever going to win. I fall into the “College” football camp, myself, but if I were to explain why, clearly, it’s so much better than the NFL, I don’t think I could do it better than this article (the included image doesn’t have anything to do with the article, don’t worry).
Excerpt – #4 Lack of Parity
Parity sucks. Parity’s great in the sense that “every team has a chance”, but that’s where its virtues end. With parity, teams are less spectacular, teams are better matched, and consequently, the play is less exciting. Parity means that punt returns are stopped after five yards, that linebackers never block field goals, and that a running game is effectively neutralized by an opposing defense……..
………A lack of parity means there are Davids and Goliaths. But occasionally, the underdogs make a miracle happen (hello, Appalachian State!) that resonates so profoundly that it serves as a reminder of why it’s not always best when teams are evenly matched week-in and week-out.
Your Next Car. The Ford Fiesta.
Behold the power of marketing. This is the most intense car review for the least intense car I’ve ever seen. You thought you knew the Ford Fiesta. You don’t.
Checkout the Fiesta vs. Corvette segment. So much bang for the buck.
Movie Review: The Expendables
Rated R
REVIEW: 3 STARS OUT OF 4
Just got back from the 80′s homage film “The Expendables” directed by Stallone himself featuring a “who’s who” of 80′s action movie stars (and some newer folks as well). Looks like people “got it” as the film took away first place for the weekend. Here’s some quick notes on how I liked the film and if you’ll like it or not.
The good: It’s short and breezy at well under two hours. Aside from a bit of a clunky beginning with a few too many poorly filmed shots, the film gets moving quickly and never bores. The action scenes are everything they promise to be – big, loud, unrealistic, outrageous, logic-defying, and have huge body counts.The grand finale is almost overwhelming..but there’s a good mix of guns, fists, knives, karate, MMA, air combat, you name it.
The cast is great. The cameos by Bruce Willis and Ahhnold are a bit disappointing, but for the most part they got a lot out of the crew. Stallone and Statham are the key players, with Statham taking on a good bit of the hand-to-hand combat roles. Jet Li is solid, and Mickey Rourke is surprisingly useful in his fairly small role with a well-acted part. A few of the other actors seem to be a bit unused, but there’s so many players that’s probably just reality.
The plot doesn’t matter, if you even really understand it (though there are a few nice nuances). It’s all about the action, and a return to the R-rated, bone-crushing action by cigar-smoking, brutish good guys. While it’s good that action films (such as The Dark Knight) have gotten contemplative, we should never lose the art of simple destruction of evil by the good, using large guns.
The not so good: The film has some fairly poor dialogue and it makes some scenes a little choppy and not flow well. A few attempts at humor work, but some are stale. Additionally, the camera work will give you a bit of a dizzy spell and some of the shots are a bit overlong and you just want to get on with it already. Finally, the CGI that’s mixed into the film is pretty bad at times, fortunately there was plenty of the real deal punches and explosions to not be distracting.
Bottom Line: Marking the end of an era, perhaps, this film delivers on both being an homage, and being able to fit in with any other 80′s action movie pretty solidly. If the purpose is to have fun and watch stuff blow up, everyone in the theater got their money’s worth.
Also, ignore the reviews. If you think you’re going to like this movie, you will.
All the guys are getting pretty old, but it’s clear that they would still beat the tar out of today’s beta male movie stars.
Who will like it: Dudes 24-55. Butch girls.
3 STARS OUT OF 4
Twitter: The Movie
There’s a real movie about Facebook coming out, then there’s this fake movie trailer for a Twitter movie.
I’m more interested in this one 
Ground Zero Mosque Pits America Against Its Elites
Strangely putting his foot into a debate (and his mouth) that would be best left to the people of New York City (or perhaps also families of those killed in the attack), Friday night Obama gave strong support for the building of the Ground Zero mosque. He took this “courageous” stand at an Islamic Ramadan dinner hosted at the White House (remember when he hosted the National Day of Prayer and..oh wait, he skipped that one). (click here for a picture of where the mosque is being built)
Here are his comments, don’t worry he backpedaled quickly after.
“As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country,”
“That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances,” he said. “This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.”(see video here)
Then he changed his tune the next day. He “clarified” his remarks, and by clarify, I mean completely changed what he originally said because he got blasted for hurting the Democrats on the ballot in November again.
“I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country is about.”
We maybe could use leadership on this issue, but not the ivy league scolding of the masses Obama has brought. Of all the things he has done to denigrate America, for some reason this one angered me the most. It revealed the naive understanding of a complex situation and the elites almost backwoodsy knee jerk support of anything Islam. By backwoodsy I mean they react like the hillbillies they hate so much for crying “communist” every time the other side does anything, without considering any complexities of an issue.
For starters, 68% of Americans are against the mosque. Either Obama is way smarter than everyone else (which I assume is what he thinks) or he’s missing something everyone else sees.
By hiding behind the lame “Freedom of Religion” card (though it’s nice the Left does actually know it exists) there is no consideration of the other freedom, the freedom of speech of the community to gather and say “not here.”
The guy behind this 100 million dollar, purportedly “bridge building” mosque is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Ground Zero is no random choice of place for this mosque. He called the United States an “accessory” to the 9/11 attacks. It’s quite clear this is marking a victory for violent Islam. They hid behind the peaceful passages of their texts to do it, and we always run as the elites scold everyone with the Islamophobic card.
Even Muslims know that’s what it’s all about. The op-ed “We Muslims Know the Ground Zero Mosque is Meant to be a Deliberate Provocation” says what everyone else knows, but since it’s by a Muslim it’s hard to use the Islamophobic card. Check out the article.
And finally, where the elites fail to understand this country and grasp the issue here, Charles Krauthammer nails it in his recent column with all the nuance and thought that the ruling class prides themselves on but sorely lacks on this issue. It’s really the first and last word you’ll need to read about it. Link here.
He writes:
A place is made sacred by a widespread belief that it was visited by the miraculous or the transcendent (Lourdes, the Temple Mount), by the presence there once of great nobility and sacrifice (Gettysburg), or by the blood of martyrs and the indescribable suffering of the innocent (Auschwitz).
When we speak of Ground Zero as hallowed ground, what we mean is that it belongs to those who suffered and died there — and that such ownership obliges us, the living, to preserve the dignity and memory of the place, never allowing it to be forgotten, trivialized or misappropriated.
No one’s saying “no mosques” or trying to get the government to stop the mosque, no matter what straw men the administration puts out there. The fight is for the hearts and minds of Americans to demand it be moved somewhere else. What they definitely aren’t looking for is our leadership pushing for it.
By the way, since it’s been 10 years almost, finishing something there that actually memorialized the deaths might be nice.
An Indecent Proposal
Greg Gutfeld, hysterical host of Red Eye on Fox News, turned the tables a bit and decided that in the spirit of building bridges (as the mosque supposedly wants to force New Yorkers to do) why not get Islam to build their own bridges with the gay community. It’s a crime punishable by death in their religion, so what better place to start? Hence, his Muslim Gay Bar idea.
Check out two interviews he did on the subject below. The second is a response to the negative feedback he got from lefties. Again, so amazingly ironic the tolerant Left quickly gets intolerant. Which is why fewer and fewer Americans are listening to them anymore.
