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mostlysignssomeportents · 11 months

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A taxonomy of corporate bullshit

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

There are six lies that corporations have told since time immemorial, and Nick Hanauer, Joan Walsh and Donald Cohen's new book Corporate Bullsht: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America* provides an essential taxonomy of this dirty six:

https://thenewpress.com/books/corporate-bullsht

In his review for The American Prospect, David Dayen summarizes how these six lies "offer a civic-minded, reasonable-sounding justification for positions that in fact are motivated entirely by self-interest":

https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-27-lies-my-corporation-told-me-hanauer-walsh-cohen-review/

I. Pure denial

As far back as the slave trade, corporate apologists and mouthpieces have led by asserting that true things are false, and vice-versa. In 1837, John Calhoun asserted that "Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually." George Fitzhugh called enslaved Africans in America "the freest people in the world."

This tactic never went away. Children sent to work in factories are "perfectly happy." Polluted water is "purer than the water that came from the river before we used it." Poor families "don't really exist." Pesticides don't lead to "illness or death." Climate change is "beneficial." Lead "helps guard your health."

II. Markets can solve problems, governments can't

Alan Greenspan made a career out of blithely asserting that markets self-correct. It was only after the world economy imploded in 2008 that he admitted that his doctrine had a "flaw":

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/greenspan-admits-flaw-to-congress-predicts-more-economic-problems

No matter how serious a problem is, the market will fix it. In 1973, the US Chamber of Commerce railed against safety regulations, because "safety is good business," and could be left to the market. If unsafe products persist in the market, it's because consumers choose to trade safety off "for a lower price tag" (Chamber spox Laurence Kraus). Racism can't be corrected with anti-discrimination laws. It's only when "the market" realizes that racism is bad for business that it will finally be abolished.

III. Consumers and workers are to blame

In 1946, the National Coal Association blamed rampant deaths and maimings in the country's coal-mines on "carelessness on the part of men." In 2003, the National Restaurant Association sang the same tune, condemning nutritional labels because "there are not good or bad foods. There are good and bad diets." Reagan's interior secretary Donald Hodel counseled personal responsibility to address a thinning ozone layer: "people who don’t stand out in the sun—it doesn’t affect them."

IV. Government cures are always worse than the disease

Lee Iacocca called 1970's Clean Air Act "a threat to the entire American economy and to every person in America." Every labor and consumer protection before and since has been damned as a plague on American jobs and prosperity. The incentive to work can't survive Social Security, welfare or unemployment insurance. Minimum wages kill jobs, etc etc.

V. Helping people only hurts them

Medicare will "destroy private initiative for our aged to protect themselves with insurance" (Republican Senator Milward Simpson, 1965). Covid relief is unfair to people that are currently in the workforce" (Republican Governor Brian Kemp, 2021). Welfare produces "learned helplessness."

VI. Everyone who disagrees with me is a socialist

Grover Cleveland's 2% on top incomes is "communistic warfare against rights of property" (NY Tribune, 1895). "Socialized medicine" will leave "our children and our children’s children [asking] what it once was like in America when men were free" (Reagan, 1961).

Everything is "socialism": anti-child labor laws, Social Security, minimum wages, family and medical leave. Even fascism is socialism! In 1938, the National Association of Manufacturers called labor rights "communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism."

As Dayen says, it's refreshing to see how the right hasn't had an original idea in 150 years, and simply relies on repeating the same nonsense with minor updates. Right wing ideological innovation consists of finding new ways to say, "actually, your boss is right."

The left's great curse is object permanence: the ability to remember things, like the fact that it used to be possible for a worker to support a family of five on a single income, or that the economy once experienced decades of growth with a 90%+ top rate of income tax (other things the left manages to remember: the "intelligence community" are sociopathic monsters, not Trump-slaying heroes).

When the business lobby rails against long-overdue antitrust action against Amazon and Google, object permanence puts it all in perspective. The talking points about this being job-destroying socialism are the same warmed-over nonsense used to defend rail-barons and Rockefeller. "If you don't like it, shop elsewhere," has been the corporate apologist's line since slavery times.

As Dayen says, Corporate Bullshit is a "reference book for conservative debating points, in an attempt to rob them of their rhetorical power." It will be out on Halloween:

https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781620977514

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/27/six-sells/#youre-holding-it-wrong

#pluralistic #corporate bullshit #lies #books #reviews #taxonomies #labor #denialism #consumerism #Nick Hanauer #Joan Walsh #Donald Cohen #history #object permanence #taking the right seriously

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americafuneral10-blog · 7 years

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2017 NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Awards: Funeral Homes Honored for Excellence in Service to Families and Communities

Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is pleased to announce that more than 160 funeral homes have earned the 2017 Pursuit of Excellence Award. This award is presented by NFDA annually to firms that have demonstrated a commitment to raising the bar on funeral service excellence by adhering to strict ethical and professional standards and providing outstanding service to families and communities.

To earn an NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award, a funeral home must demonstrate proficiency in key areas of funeral service, including compliance with state and federal regulations; providing ongoing education and professional development opportunities for staff; offering outstanding programs and resources to bereaved families; maintaining an active level of involvement in the community; participating and actively serving in the funeral service profession; and promoting funeral home services through a variety of marketing, advertising and public relations programs. Participants are also required to adhere to a Pledge of Ethical Practices.

NFDA will honor the 2017 Pursuit of Excellence Award Recipients on October 30 during the All-Star Recognition Ceremony, which will take place during the 2017 NFDA International Convention & Expo, October 29 through November 1 in Boston, Mass.

Information about the NFDA Pursuit of Excellence program can be found by visiting www.nfda.org/pursuitofexcellence. Registration and application materials for 2018 will be available in late-October 2017.

Best of the Best Award Finalists Announced – NFDA Members to Select Winners All Pursuit of Excellence applicants submitted an essay describing the development and execution of a program or service that had a positive impact on the families they serve or their community, qualifying them for the Best of the Best Award, which recognizes the most novel and innovative programs and services in the profession.

After a thorough review, the Pursuit of Excellence Committee has selected the five finalists for the Best of the Best Award:

NFDA members will, once again, select the recipients of the Best of the Best Award. After reviewing the finalists’ essays, association members will vote for the idea they think is most worthy of the Best of the Best Award. The three firms that earn the most votes will be named the 2017 recipients of the Best of the Best Award.

The 2017 Best of the Best Award finalists are: · Arlington Memorial Chapels, Inc., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines · Chambers & James, Funeral, Pet & Cremation Services, Wellsburg, W.Va. · Old Bridge Funeral Home, Old Bridge, N.J. · Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Traverse City, Mich. · Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Homes and Crematory, New Castle, Del.

Association members should visit www.nfda.org/pursuitofexcellence to read finalists’ essays and cast their vote. Voting for the Best of the Best Award closes September 8.

NFDA Hall of Excellence Inductees NFDA-member funeral homes are inducted into the Hall of Excellence upon receiving their 10th Pursuit of Excellence Award. In recognition of their consistent display of professional and ethical excellence, four funeral homes will be inducted into the NFDA Hall of Excellence in 2017:

· Lentz Funeral Home, Algona, Iowa · Roller-Owens Funeral Home, North Little Rock, Ark. · Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home, Fairfield, Conn. · Worlein Funeral Home, Austin, Minn.

2017 NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award Recipients *Previously inducted into the NFDA Hall of Excellence ***First-time Award Recipient

Abels & French-Hand Funeral Homes, Grundy Center, Iowa *A.H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. A.H. Peters Funeral Home, Warren, Warren, Mich. *A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Troy, Mich. Anderson & Sons Mortuary, Inc., American Fork, Utah ***Anderson Funeral Home, Alexandria, Minn. ***Anderson Funeral and Cremation Services, Belvidere, Ill. Anderson-Burris Funeral Home & Crematory, Enid, Okla. Arlington Memorial Chapels, Inc., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines *Arnett & Steele Funeral Home, Inc., Pineville, Ky. Arrington Funeral Directors, Jackson, Tenn. *A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home & Crematory, Decatur, Ga. *Baird Funeral Home, Troy, Ohio Ballard-Durand Funeral & Cremation Services, White Plains, N.Y. Baskerville Funeral Home, Wilmington, Ill. Bass Funeral Home, Inc., Gordonsville, Tenn. ***B.C. Bailey Funeral Home, Wallingford, Conn. Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Hammond, La. Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, N.J. Butler Funeral Home, Bolivar, Mo. *Caldwell & Cowan Funeral Home, Covington, Ga. Cannon Cleveland Funeral Directors, McDonough, Ga. *Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral and Cremation Service, Inc., Alliance, Ohio Chambers & James Funeral, Pet & Cremation Services, Wellsburg, W.Va. Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes, Inc., Albion, N.Y. Copeland Funeral Service, Beaufort, S.C. ***Cosmopolitan Memorial Chapels, Inc., Cebu City, Philippines *Cozean Memorial Chapel & Crematory, Farmington, Mo. *Cozine Memorial Group, Wichita, Kan. C.R. Lyons & Sons Funeral Directors, Danvers, Mass. Dalin-Hantge Funeral Chapel, Winthrop, Minn. *David C. Brown Funeral Home, Belleville, Mich. *Davis Funeral Home, LLC, Nashua, N.H. Deiters Funeral Home & Crematory, Washington, Ill. *D’Esopo East Hartford Memorial Chapel, East Hartford, Conn. *D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, Wethersfield, Conn. *Dobratz-Hantge Funeral Chapel, Hutchinson, Minn. Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Burritt Hill, New Britain, Conn. *Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Newington Memorial, Newington, Conn. *Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home, Canal Winchester, Ohio E. Blake Collins Funeral Home, Wilkes Barre, Penn. Emerald Hills Funeral Home and Memorial Park, Kennedale, Texas Emmanuel Johnson Funeral Home, Philadelphia, Penn. ***Ever Rest Funeral Home and Chapel, Muskegon, Mich. Falco Caruso & Leonard Camden Funeral Home, Camden, N.J. Falco Caruso & Leonard Funeral Home, Pennsauken, N.J. Farris Funeral Service and Crematory, Abingdon, Va. Finch & Finch Funeral and Cremation Service, Altavista, Va. Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home, Yerington, Nev. French Funeral Home, Brazil, Ind. Funeraria Hernandez, Pennsauken, N.J. Funeraria La Esperanza S.A., Medellín, Colombia Funeraria San Vicente S.A., Medellín, Colombia *Gamble Funeral Service, Savannah, Ga. Gardinier Funeral Home, Inc., Franklin, Penn. Geisen Funeral Homes, Crown Point, Ind. Geisen-Carlisle Funeral & Cremation Services, Michigan City, Ind. George I. Green Funeral Home, Inc., Munhall, Penn. G.H. Herrmann Funeral Homes, Indianapolis, Ind. *Gorsline-Runciman Funeral Homes, Lansing, Mich. *Gunderson Funeral Home, Madison, Wis. ***Halpin-Bitecola Brookdale Funeral Home, Bloomfield, N.J. Heath Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Lakeland, Fla. *Henderson Funeral Home & Crematory, Pekin, Ill. *Heritage Funeral Home, Nipawin, SK, Canada Holman-Howe Funeral Home, Lebanon, Mo. Howard K. Hill Funeral Services, New Haven, Conn. Hughes Family Tribute Center, Dallas, Texas Hughes-Hantge Funeral Chapel, Hector, Minn. Inglesby & Sons Funeral Home, Pennsauken, N.J. ***Irvin Macz Funeral Homes, Centralia, Ill. James Funeral Home & Northlake Memorial Gardens, Huntersville, N.C. Jennings-Calvey Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc., Clarks Summit, Penn. J. Garcia Lopez Casa Pedregal, Mexico City, Mexico *Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Litchfield, Minn. Johnson-McBride Funeral Chapel, Glencoe, Minn. *Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory, Douglasville, Ga. *Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory, Villa Rica, Ga. *Joseph Vertin and Sons Funeral Home, Breckenridge, Minn. Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home, Port Huron, Mich. *Kerrville Funeral Home, Kerrville, Texas *Kilpatrick Funeral Homes, West Monroe, La. Kimble Funeral Home, Junction, Texas Kok Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cottage Grove, Minn. ***Kramer Funeral Home – Palouse, Palouse, Wash. ***Krestridge Funeral Home, Levelland, Texas Lakeshore Memorial Services, a Dignity Memorial Provider, Holland, Mich. Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Hamburg, N.Y. ***Langley Funeral Home, Camp Hill, Ala. Lentz Funeral Home, Algona, Iowa Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home, Stamford, Conn. Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, Athens, Ga. Martin & Hightower Funeral Home, Carrollton, Ga. *Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services – Fairgrove, Fairgrove, Mich. Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services – Grand Blanc, Grand Blanc, Mich. *Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services – Mt. Morris, Mount Morris, Mich. *Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services – Vassar, Vassar, Mich. *Memorial Funeral Home, San Juan, Texas *Memorial Funeral Home, Edinburg, Texas Mercer-Adams Funeral Service, Bethany, Okla. Meredith-Clark Funeral Home, Cremation and Personalization Center, Morgantown, Ind. ***Mililani Memorial Park & Mortuary Chapel, Waipahu, Hawaii *Milward Funeral Directors, Lexington, Ky. ***Molden Funeral Chapel, Bristol, Penn. ***Morada Da Paz, Paulista, PE, Brazil Morgan & Nay Funeral Centre, Madison, Ind. Morris-Baker Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Johnson City, Tenn. Morrissett Funeral & Cremation Service, North Chesterfield, Va. *Myers Mortuary – Roy, Roy, Utah *Myers Mortuary of Brigham City, Brigham City, Utah *Myers Mortuary of Layton, Layton, Utah *Myers Mortuary, Ogden, Utah O’Brien Funeral Home, Brick Location, Brick, N.J. O’Brien Funeral Home, Wall Location, Wall Township, N.J. Oceanside Memorial Home, Lake Como, N.J. *Ochiltree Funeral Service, Winterset, Iowa Old Bridge Funeral Home, Old Bridge, N.J. Oliverie Funeral Home, Manchester, N.J. *Olson Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Sheboygan, Wis. *Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home and Crematory, East Pittsburgh, Penn. Pedersen Funeral & Cremation Service, Morris, Minn. *Pixley Funeral Home, Rochester, Mich. *Pray Funeral Home, Inc., Charlotte, Mich. Radney Funeral Home, Alexander City, Ala. Ransford Collon Funeral Home, Caro, Mich. *Reeves Funeral Homes, Ltd., Coal City, Ill. Reichmuth Funeral Home, Elkhorn, Neb. *Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Traverse City, Mich. Roller Coffman-Crouch Funeral Home, Mountain View, Ark. Roller Funeral Home – Paris, Paris, Ark. *Roller Funeral Home, Mountain Home, Ark. *Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, Little Rock, Ark. Roller-Cox Funeral Home, Clarksville, Ark. *Roller-Daniel Funeral Home, Searcy, Ark. *Roller-McNut Funeral Home, Conway, Ark. Roller-McNutt Funeral Home Clinton, Clinton, Ark. Roller-Owens Funeral Home, North Little Rock, Ark. ***Savage-DeMarco Funeral Service, Endicott, N.Y. Seaver-Brown Funeral Service & Crematory, Marion, Va. *Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke Funeral Home, Alliance, Ohio Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home, Fairfield, Conn. Smith Family Funeral Home – North Little Rock Funeral Home, North Little Rock, Ark. Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Homes and Crematory, New Castle, Del. St. Peter Chapels, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines *Staab Polk Memorial Home/Cremation Services of Central Illinois, Chatham, Ill. Sunset Funeral Home, Danville, Ill. ***Tetrick Funeral & Cremation Services, Johnson City, Tenn. Tetrick Funeral Home, Elizabethton, Tenn. ***Thomas L. Neilan & Sons Funeral Home, New London, Conn. *Thomas McAfee Funeral Home – Downtown Chapel, Greenville, S.C. Thomas McAfee Funeral Home – Northwest Chapel, Greenville, S.C. Thomas McAfee Funeral Home – Southeast Chapel, Simpsonville, S.C. Titus Funeral Home, Warsaw, Ind. *Twiford Funeral Home, Elizabeth City, N.C. Waid Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Merrill, Wis. Waitt Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Morganville, N.J. Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park & Mortuary, Salt Lake City, Utah Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Galesburg, Ill. Weeks’ Dryer Mortuary, Tacoma, Wash. *Weeks’ Enumclaw Funeral Home, Enumclaw, Wash. *Weeks’ Funeral Home, Buckley, Wash. Wieting Family Funeral Home, Chilton, Wis. *Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Royal Oak, Mich. *Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Utica, Mich. Worlein Funeral Home, Austin, Minn.

NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving 19,700 individual members who represent more than 10,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.

2017 NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Awards: Funeral Homes Honored for Excellence in Service to Families and Communities published first on YouTube

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