Jonestown

	Drinking the Kool-Aid: A (Partial) 2007 Directory
	*Politics* CNN: Bush Made The Kool Aid December 8, 2006 CNN video at: http://www.kxmc.com/getARticle.asp?ArticleId=75102 President Bush and his closest ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have stood shoulder to shoulder on the Iraq war since the very beginning. Critics calling Mr. Bush “the cowboy” for stubbornly leading the charge, and Mr. Blair “the poodle” for obediently following. But three years since the U.S. invasion, the two are still adamant their Iraq mission is sound. President Bush didn’t just drink the Kool-Aid, he made it. But perhaps now it’s a little less sweet. Condi: Still Drinking The Kool-Aid by Juan Cole, truthdig, December 22, 2006 http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20061222_condy_still_drinking_kool_aid/ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indicated on Thursday that she still believed Iraq would emerge “as a country that is a stabilizing factor” for the Mideast, and that President Bush would not ask for continued investment if he—and she—did not believe the venture was worthwhile. Letters: Give the private sector a raise! by Brian Lynch, SF Bay Guardian, December 27, 2006 http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=2443&catid=4&volume_id=254&issue_id=274&volume_num=41&issue_num=13 “While politicians and the press blather on about fixing the symptoms, the root cause of our financial problems is seldom discussed. We drank the corporate Kool-Aid and embraced their radical free-market hype. We are brainwashed into thinking that market forces have mystical powers to save us if we would just remove ourselves from the equation.” “Shallow Throat”: Don’t Let Dems Drink Bush’s Iraq Kool-Aid by Bernard Weiner, The Crisis Papers, December 28, 2006 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bernard__061228__22shallow_throat_22_3a_do.htm “Your ‘principled’ Democrats are coming perilously close to falling into the spiderweb trap Karl Rove has set for them,” [said Shallow Throat]. “I’m a bit lost here,” I replied, “not sure I understand that last comment. What trap are you talking about?” “Just use your noodle, my naive progressive friend,” said Shallow Throat. “What is dragging down the Bush Administration and was responsible for the huge GOP defeat in November?” “The war in Iraq?” I answered. ”Bingo! You got it on the first try. So here the Republicans are being destroyed by the war they started, and if they don’t want to lose the White House and Congress again in 2008 they’ve got to find a way to get that albatross from around their necks and, at least partially, also around the necks of the Democrats, thus wiping out the war as an issue. Inside Track: Why can’t Republicans just say ‘No?’ by Emil Franzi, Explorer Newspapers, Tucson, Arizona, January 17, 2007 http://www.explorernews.com/article/show/561 What makes supposedly conservative Republicans turn into squanderers when they reach Congress? That’s what they learn at the lower levels. Try the Arizona Legislature… [but] they don’t say “no” in Phoenix either. Neither do supposedly hard right GOP candidates, many of whom drink the political Kool-aid offered by the dogmatically leftist concept of public financing of elections. Locally, witness GOP behavior on the non-partisan Oro Valley Town Council.… There are five Republicans on the Oro Valley Council. Four of them keep trying to raise taxes, with some success. The best excuse for the new utility tax and the proposed sales tax hike given by the current tax-and-spend majority is that they don’t want to impose a property tax. They don’t just drink the Kool-aid, they guzzle it. Merits of student aid A lesson about the haves and the have-nots by Sam Allis, The Observer, Boston Globe, March 11, 2007 http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/03/11/merits_of_student_aid/ [T]he growth in merit-based aid at these places has outpaced that of need-based aid in an effort to attract these upper-middle-class students with higher board scores who will make a school more competitive. While some merit money is mixed with need, the trend is clear and results scandalous. College rankings exacerbate this noxious development. Blame rankings on those odious annual lists U.S. News & World Report dreamed up to sell magazines. Otherwise sane academic leaders drank the Kool-Aid to look better. A Giant Cash Register In The Sky? by Mary Grady, AV Web, March 14, 2007 http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Giant_Cash_Register_In_The_Sky_194693-1.html U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., characterized the FAA’s proposed user-fee-based funding plan as “a giant cash register in the sky” at a House Transportation Committee hearing on Wednesday morning. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told the committee that a change from a ticket- and fuel-tax-backed Aviation Trust Fund to a user-fee structure is vital to unlocking the gridlock in the skies. “It’s my firm belief that our status-quo financing structure cannot deliver the NextGen system we need, when and where we need it,” she said. The committee greeted her testimony with a fair amount of skepticism, though Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., was somewhat receptive -- earning a comment from a fellow congressman that “he’s been drinking the FAA’s Kool-Aid.” Costly scam robs citizens of freedom by Eric Peters, McClatchy-Tribune News, March 30, 2007 http://www.uecrescent.org/articles/stories/public/200703/30/046v_opinion.html What if we just said no? Not to drugs—though that’s a good idea, too. But no to being fingerprinted and/or optically scanned for purposes of the soon-to-be-mandatory National ID card?… A National ID would not have stopped the Oklahoma City bombings or prevented Mohammed Atta from boarding the 767 that flew into the World Trade Center. And anyone who believes it will prevent or even put a dent in the endless truckloads of illegal immigrants entering this country from Mexico has been guzzling some tainted Kool-Aid. Legislating A Terrorist Victory In Iraq by Frank Salvato, GOP/USA, March 30, 2007 http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/fsalvato/2007/fs_03301.shtml If anyone was under the impression that congressional Democrats actually considered their actions, with regard to the “troop withdrawal bills,” beyond achieving victory over the Bush administration, they would be playing the part of the uninformed, Kool-Aid drinking fool. (web site) While Democrats Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of their anti-war, pro-genocide, hate-Bush contingent revel in the fact that they have succeeded in passing a bill that opposes the president, al Qaeda operatives in Iraq are preparing to set their alarm clocks for “half-past redeployment” so the slaughter of those who braved Iraq’s polling places can begin. Time to reform RCMP by James Travers, Toronto Star, April 3, 2007 http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/198666 Its members are screaming pension plan cover-up, inquiries are multiplying like barn flies and public trust is in the tank. In other words, things are looking up for the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police]. For far too long, no one was willing to peer too closely at the postcard force. Insiders happily drank the cult Kool-Aid, parliamentarians were afraid to impose discipline or oversight on an institution held in higher esteem than politicians and Canadians were understandably reluctant to tear down one of their few remaining icons. So, year after year, decade after decade, the pattern continues. Happy Easter. Happy Passover. But not for those who suffer our greed. by Diane Marie, OpEdNews.com, April 6, 2007 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_diane_ma_070405_happy_easter___happy.htm I know I’m not alone in finding the gargantuan amounts of political monies raised obscene, that they’ll keep on keeping on like kids in a supermarket-size candy store, because they can. A family of political vampires worship $ together to stay together. Stir into this caldron, media; corporations, etc., you know the deal, and a piece of moldy cloth that once represented a country with high ideals. Drink the Kool Aid. Free Speech: The Bill o’ Rights giveth, the Bill O’Reilly taketh away. by Chrish, Newshounds, April 9, 2007 http://www.newshounds.us/2007/04/09/free_speech_the_bill_o_rights_giveth_the_bill_oreilly_taketh_away.php One of Bill O’Reilly’s recent targets has been actor Charlie Sheen, who openly questions the official storyline of the events of September 11th and is in talks to narrate a new release of the alternative theory documentary Loose Change. O’Reilly insists that accepting such a role will cause harm to Sheen’s career and asks viewers to vote in one of his unscientific polls (to what end we can only wonder). On the FOX News website O’Reilly’s Most Ridiculous Item reads: We’re getting quite a bit of action on our billoreilly.com poll question: Will actor Charlie Sheen damage his career if he narrates a 9/11 conspiracy film? Some of those voting are far left Kool-Aid drinkers told to support Sheen by nutty Web sites they visit. Now I really feel sorry for these people, I do, as they are similar to the ones who followed crazy Jim Jones down to South America in the `70s and wound up drinking a poison Kool-Aid-like substance which of course killed them. People who are incapable of thinking of themselves are always exploited, always, thus the name, Kool-Aid drinkers. In addition, they are ridiculous. But we want you to vote on our poll, those of you who are thinking for yourselves. Luce Change CBS News Public Eye, April 10, 2007 http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/04/10/publiceye/entry2668646.shtml “They’re very aware that Christian media for decades was just awful and cheesy, and it’s just pure kitsch. And I think now they recognize that if we can produce really quality media but that nonetheless has this fundamentalist message, then we’re going to win kids over. If they can, you know, get to Hollywood and make movies that are actually pretty good, like The Chronicles of Narnia, those become the media equivalent of gateway drugs to bring you in to drink the full Kool-Aid of fundamentalism.” --Jeff Sharlet, who wrote an article for Rolling Stone about evangelical youth leader Ron Luce, speaking on On The Media. John McCain [Screwed] by the Republican Fantasy World by Bill Maher, Huffington Post, April 12, 2007 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/john-mccain-fucked-by-the_b_45685.html John McCain’s not an idiot. I’m sure he knows that it’s not safe in Baghdad, but he has to pretend that it’s safe in Baghdad because that’s what the GOP base wants to hear… most Republicans are still gung-ho about the war. In fact, two-thirds of likely GOP primary voters support what Bush is doing in Iraq. They support the surge. They’ve swallowed so much Kool-Aid that any change in their diet would kill them. Were she a different woman... Being the first female with a shot just isn’t enough by Aaryn Belfer, May 2, 2007 http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=5663 I am not a Hillary Clinton supporter. I like her all right, I suppose. It would be tough for anyone, particularly women, to argue that there isn’t much to admire, and I admit that there was a point in time when I just might have voted for her as a knee-jerk reaction, an unwavering stand in solidarity based primarily on our common gender. But I’m a thinking woman and an unapologetic progressive… Like all of the potential candidates, she has her strong points as well as her shortcomings. But would I vote for her simply because she’s a woman? That, in my opinion, would be the ultimate anti-woman move and is a no-brainer despite the copious amounts of delicious Kool-Aid I consumed during her speech and the press conference that followed. Free flow of the Conservative Kool-Aid May 10, 2007 http://www.worldbankpresident.org/archives/000672.php It is sad to realize that the actions of Wolfowitz are still considered proper. “I do not believe that Wolfowitz did anything wrong at the World Bank,” said Dan Goure, a defense analyst, on NPR All Things Considered. However, he does agree that Wolfowitz “held himself in such high regard that he simply assumed others should too,” and considers that “what he wanted to do at the World Bank was laudable.” Acting like Americans by Helen Valois, RenewAmerica, May 12, 2007 http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/valois/070512 We all know well the fix we’re in. The Republican defection not only from principle but from all that is decent (and even commonsensical) that we have long feared and predicted is coming to pass at last. What to do? The number of good-hearted, well-intentioned people apparently willing to chug the Kool Aid for whomever the professional chatterers and political insiders unilaterally designate as “presumptive Republican front runner” is nothing short of blood-chilling. Ron Paul vs. Sean Hannity The Liberty Papers, May 16, 2007 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/05/16/ron-paul-vs-sean-hannity/ Sean Hannity is not a person to go to if you want reasoned discussion of the issues. Even more than Rush Limbaugh, who famously said after the 2006 elections that he wasn’t going to carry the GOP’s water anymore and seems to be living up to that statement so far, Hannity has drunk so much of the George W. Bush Kool-Aid that he seems incapable of even understanding what someone who dares to question el Presidente’s action. Watch what you’re drinking in Crown Point by Rich James, Post-Tribune, Merrillville, Indiana, May 25, 2007 http://www.post-trib.com/news/james/400398,james.article I’m not sure what’s in the water in Crown Point, but I sure as heck wouldn’t drink it. What we’ve got in the making is another Jonestown. Some Republicans are drinking the Kool-Aid as if it were a fine wine. No one is expected to die, but several will be politically polluted for life. Progressives unite—and divide by Hollie Gilman, The Chicago Maroon, May 25, 2007 http://maroon.uchicago.edu/online_edition/viewpoints/2007/05/25/progressives-unite—and-divide/ “Nobody still believes that government bureaucracy can solve a problem better than private citizens.” My friend told me this my first year. I, the young, idealistic progressive who spent the summer working for the Kerry/Edwards campaign, retorted, “Of course the government can fix problems.” That summer my room was lined with posters: “A change is going to come.” I was not only serving the Kool-Aid but also mixing it. I was right out of the school of New-Deal, government-can-save liberalism. A Kennedy Democrat, a believer in interventionist government—a government that actively makes things better for its citizen: A New Deal, a Great Society. The Mayoral Minder May 29, 2007 http://sfist.com/2007/05/29/the_mayoral_min.php There’s a profile of Phil Ginsburg, the new mayoral chief of staff, in today’s Chron. Basically, it’s a hard job, Ginsburg took a $75K paycut when he took it, and he was nonplussed when, about one week in, he got stuck dealing with the Ruby Rippey-Tourk/rehab circus. Also, Ginsburg is really into org charts. Interestingly, though, pretty much everyone admits (or at least doesn’t deny) that Gavin is difficult to work with, and praise Ginsburg for “not drinking the Kool-Aid” for the administration. Ask A Lobbyist: *Meant to be Spent Alone* May 30, 2007 http://wonkette.com/politics/ask-a-lobbyist-dept’/meant-to-be-spent-alone-264591.php Every week, our Anonymous Lobbyist answers your questions about how laws get made and why they probably shouldn’t. Could you do a breakdown of, say, your own efforts? Is it trying to get pork or easing environmental regulations? …I’m an issue generalist- I can learn about and lobby whatever someone pays me to learn about and lobby. I tend to stay far away from touchy-feely issues, like guns or abortion or gay rights or the Iraq war, but that’s mostly because they pay shitty (you don’t have to pay someone as much if they’re doing something they really believe in and care about) and the people who do work those issues have drunk so much Kool-Aid that it makes me uncomfortable. For starters, jump off the bandwagon by Linda P. Campbell, Star-Telegram, June 14, 2007 http://www.star-telegram.com/245/story/136550.html When Republican political strategist Mary Matalin predicts that the 2008 presidential nominations won’t come down to whoever-has-the-most-bucks winning, you have to wonder who’s been spiking her Kool-Aid. (Hey, she’s the one who called herself a “Kool-Aid drinker.”) Of course, she also believes that history will rank George W. Bush as a great president, so you know to take her assessments with deep skepticism. Liberals Vs. Conservatives by Kevin Drum, CBS News, June 15, 2007 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/15/politics/animal/main2938183.shtml Environmentalism, for example, is something that I suspect everyone naturally supports unless they have some reason not to, and the main reason not to is that it interferes with business interests. So opposition to environmentalism comes mostly from conservative, pro-business parties, while everyone else supports it. It has nothing much to do with egalitarianism. Ditto for some other social issues, like gun control and school prayer, which are slightly mysterious. They might be associated with the urban bias of liberal parties, or they might just be an artifact of tribalism. After all, once you’ve drunk enough of the Kool-Aid on either side, you tend to drink the rest. David Iglesias in Portland Arkansas Times, June 17, 2007 http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/06/david_iglesias_in_portland.aspx David Iglesias, the former US Attorney for New Mexico, spoke candidly today to AANers at a lunch talk. He kicked off his speech with some quips about being a disillusioned Republican, who’d, to paraphrase President Clinton he said, “sipped the loyalty Kool-Aid, swished it around, but not swallowed.” Money doesn’t make a leader by Linda P. Campbell, Lawrence Journal World & News, June 18, 2007 http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/jun/18/money_doesnt_make_leader/ When Republican political strategist Mary Matalin predicts that the 2008 presidential nominations won’t come down to whoever-has-the-most-bucks winning, you have to wonder who’s been spiking her Kool-Aid. Gas prices good for us either way by Democrat Editorial Board, The Natchez (Mississippi) Democrat, June 26, 2007 http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2007/jun/26/gas-prices-good-us-either-way/ Is cheap gasoline just another bit of international Kool-Aid, intended to lull us into a false sense of security?… as quickly as the prices went up, they’ve dropped again. Americans should enjoy this latest price relief but not forget that we’re one international crisis or one madman’s whim away from being in a pickle again. More Moore: Gupta Takes on ‘SiCKO’ Director on ‘Larry King Live’ by Dan Gainor, NewsBusters, July 11, 2007 http://newsbusters.org/node/14020 Even CNN can swallow only so much of the Michael Moore, socialized-medicine Kool-Aid. Cheap Oil Like Jonestown Kool-Aid The Daily Reckoning, Baltimore MD, July 26, 2007 http://www.howestreet.com/articles/index.php?article_id=4449 “Americans are delusional,” began James Howard Kunstler, speaking to the investment conference we are attending here in Vancouver. “They think they can continue living the way they’ve been living for the last 50 years… [Americans] have come to depend on cheap fuel the way Jonestown depended on Kool-Aid.” Conservatives Need Their Campus Rebels by Doug Giles, TownHall.com, July 28, 2007 http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/DougGiles/2007/07/28/conservatives_need_their_campus_rebels Guess what, freshman conservative college student? In a couple of weeks you’re going to have your liberal campus and its professors shove more crap down your throat than Rosie does her gullet during Chili’s Monday Night Nacho Monster Blowout Special, that’s what. Now, I’m not trying to make you fearful, sweetie. I just want you to brace for the liberal Kool-Aid crunch that is coming soon to a classroom near you. The Unitary Executive Kool-Aid Acid Test by Karl Pope, The Huffington Post, August 9, 2007 \| http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-pope/the-unitary-executive-koo_b_59843.html [EPA Administrator Steve] Johnson’s fatal flaw may not be his view of environmental regulation or public health, but of his role as EPA Administrator; he seems to have drunk the Bush Administration’s “unitary executive” Kool-Aid. Under this doctrine, what is important is not the language of the laws Johnson has sworn to enforce, nor his own independent judgment, which those laws specify he must employ. Under this doctrine, the EPA Administrator is simply the agent of the White House, and its “unitary” will -- allegedly that of the President, although in many of these cases one senses that someone like Vice-President Cheney or even a more junior political appointee played “executive.” Peterson is deaf to any dissent by Matthew Tully, Indianapolis Star, August 12, 2007 http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070812/COLUMNISTS19/708120437/1101/COLUMNISTS19 Mayor Bart Peterson sat with Indianapolis Star reporters and editors earlier this summer and said he wasn’t hearing much dissent from the public about his proposed income tax increase. Not hearing dissent? Well, clearly you’re not listening, I thought that afternoon, as the mayor provided more evidence to suggest he’s not interested in hearing from anyone other than the Kool-Aid drinkers who circle around his administration and feed off the government. New Orleans Still Being Rebuilt Two Years After Katrina by Chris Rose, PBS NewsHour, August 20, 2007 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec07/gulfcoast_08-20.html Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding devastated New Orleans and its surrounding area. The New Orleans Times-Picayune’s Chris Rose discusses the healing state of New Orleans on the second anniversary. It wasn’t long ago that our mayor was claiming that not only would New Orleans rise to its pre-Katrina population of 475,000, but that it would eventually climb to 600,000. Our mayor, he drinks the Kool-Aid. The rest of us are stuck in a reality-based world. George Bush And National Intelligence… One of these things doesn’t go with the other by Dr. W.R. Marshall, The American Chronicle, August 26, 2007 http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=36090 In about a month the nation will receive the Petraeus Report on troop surge progress… While everyone outside the White House knows what will be in the report—it’s like knowing what happened to Lincoln when he went to the theatre—everyone inside the White House is anxiously waiting for the results—that’s a lot of Kool-Aid. Last week the N.I.E. (National Intelligence Estimate) published its findings on “Progress for Iraq’s Stability” and really watered down the hallucinogenic effect of the stuff they’ve been sipping at 1600. My Report on Iraq by Ken Levine, The Huffington Post, September 3, 2007 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-levine/my-report-on-iraq_b_62883.html Over the next few weeks the public and congress will be briefed on the situation in Iraq by a number of experts. Among them: … Defense Secretary Robert Gates (appointed by the President so you know Kool-Aid is his beverage of choice). NYT’s Frank Rich Says Katie Couric Drank Bush Kool-Aid in Iraq by Clay Waters, Newsbusters, September 11, 2007 http://newsbusters.org/blogs/clay-waters/2007/09/11/nyts-frank-rich-says-katie-couric-drank-kool-aid-iraq Not even CBS anchor Katie Couric is sufficiently liberal to satisfy New York Times drama critic turned political commentator Frank Rich, who in his latest epic Sunday column accused the CBS anchor, who recently went to Iraq, of “drinking the…Kool-Aid” regarding Bush’s optimistic pronouncements on the war. Editorial: Don’t drink the tax Kool-Aid Editorial, Baltimore Examiner, September 12, 2007 http://www.examiner.com/a-929947~Editorial__Don_t_drink_the_tax_Kool_Aid.html The tax code favors the rich? That’s Gov. Martin O’Mal-ley and certain Democratic state legislators’ deceptive potion as they canvas state media declaring the need to raise taxes on everyone in the form of higher state income and sales taxes to finance the $1.5 billion “structural” deficit.… [But] a penny increase in the sales tax, as the governor and some legislators have floated, and shifting the income tax burden around [are shown to be] what they truly are: Poisons passing as antidotes. Japan Sweats for Global Warming by Steven Milloy, FOXNews.com, September 13, 2007 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296719,00.html Japanese office workers are being forced to sweat in the name of global warming. But before Americans consume too much “Green” Kool-Aid and suffer a similar fate, they may want to consider this week’s global warming developments. Put the Cure in Mercury Mercury contamination in fish declines when emissions go down Grist Environmental News, September 18, 2007 http://www.grist.org/news/2007/09/18/fish/ Mercury contamination of waterways and marine life doesn’t have to be an ongoing problem -- all we have to do is limit industrial mercury emissions… So someday, if we all lobby hard enough against mercury-spewing (and otherwise evil) coal plants, you may be able to eat your sushi without fear of being poisoned. But we’d still watch out for the Kool-Aid. *Business* The BMW Method: Nothing is Very Expensive The Motley Fool, December 13, 2006 http://www.fool.com/community/pod/2006/061213.htm?ref=foolwatch I was onto the BMW Method long before I figured out how I should use my knowledge for personal gain. I had not figured out that “The BuildMWell Company” was already doing business here in America in 1989. When I wrote that technical paper, I was trying to sell something to someone else. What I needed to do was to sell the BMW Method thing to myself. I needed to drink my own Kool Aid. A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection by Peter Gutmann, People2People, December 22 2006 http://www.p2pnet.net/story/10823 The Vista Content Protection specification could very well constitute the longest suicide note in history.… The worst thing about all of this is that there’s no escape. Hardware manufacturers will have to drink the kool-aid … in order to work with Vista: “There is no requirement to sign the [content-protection] license; but without a certificate, no premium content will be passed to the driver”. (The article includes a footnote explaining the reference “to the 1978 Jonestown mass-suicide in which Jim Jones’ followers drank Flavor Aid laced with poison in order to demonstrate their dedication to the cause. In popular usage the term ‘kool-aid’ is substituted for Flavor Aid because it has more brand recognition.”) My Thoughts On 2007 by Dave Morgan, MediaPost Communications, January 4, 2007 http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=53352 We will not see a Bull burst. We will see underperforming companies go out of business--as they should. I had a front row seat in the last Internet growth spurt, and it WAS a Bubble. It was financed by individual investors driven by hungry bankers and analysts, and the Kool-Aid that we all wanted to drink. This is not where we are now. What if bulls are wrong about 2007? Contrarian forecasts global recession and market meltdown by Paul B. Farrell, Marketwatch, January 8, 2007 http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/if-bulls-wrong-about-2007/story.aspx?guid=%7BC5852C33-C1E0-4157-993F-C41670B01033%7D OK folks, had a bit too much New Year’s hype from the bulls? Me too! Feel like maybe Wall Street’s still sipping Dom Perignon, celebrating their megabonuses, while slipping you their latest concoction of Kool-Aid? I’m with you! The World Takes a Sip of Apple’s Kool-Aid Steve Jobs Appears Almost a Cult Leader During Unveiling of ‘Revolutionary’ iPhone by Jonathan Silverstein, ABC News, San Francisco, January 9, 2007 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2782509&page=1 It looks like Apple gave the world a little sip of the company Kool-Aid. Now we’ll have to wait and see if it can turn its unparalleled success in the MP3 market and evident emotional connection to its work into a successful cell phone business. All is calm for relentless optimists Commentary: Market tremors don’t hit Silicon Valley by Bambi Francisco, MarketWatch, March 1, 2007 http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/all-calm-relentless-optimists/story.aspx?guid=%7BC0933EDD-3D79-493B-B8FA-5E5E4DEF71D8%7D Wall Street traders, investors, and, especially, hedge fund managers are often wary about startups, questioning more often than not whether so-called innovative ideas have legs. Public investors believe there is some special Kool-Aid going around in Silicon Valley that numbs the rational senses. Indeed, whether there is Kool-Aid or not, all appears to be calm in the Valley and among those looking to invest in private deals and those looking for funding, despite the fact that other asset classes -- stocks, real estate, junk bonds -- are on shaky ground. There Is No Plan Province’s finances could well be heading into the ditch by Neil Waugh, Edmonton Sun, March 1, 2007 http://www.edmontonsun.com/Business/News/2007/03/01/3680556-sun.html Steady Eddie’s shaky finance minister was stirring the Kool-Aid this week, crowing about a projected $7-billion surplus for the 2006-07 fiscal year that’s the “second highest we’ve ever had.” SXSW: Drunk at the Wheel, Driving Social Technology by Ariel Waldman, AdRants.com, March 11, 2007 http://www.adrants.com/2007/03/sxsw-drunk-at-the-wheel-driving-social-te.php Perhaps drunk at the wheel sometimes, technology does drive social change. In turn, everyday people are now enabled to be the drivers as well. Similar to the blur of how you got home the night before, there is no longer a clear sobriety line to walk between social interaction and technology. Likewise, a constant negotiation between public and private, business and pleasure, leaves many at polar realms. Understanding the integration versus isolation debate is said to help us understand ourselves, or at least what Kool-aid we drank to get there. City’s braggarts not so far off Denver’s slow growth superior to stagnation of many cities by Ben Wright, Rocky Mountain News, March 17, 2007 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5423759,00.html We all know them. The people who live in a city, state or neighborhood who need to tell you all about how great their place is - and why it is better than where you live. The truth is, every one of us compares places to other places. Isn’t it human nature? And most of us, deep down, think that our town is the best in the world. We call this exuberant loss of perspective “drinking the Kool-Aid.” … Denver overflows with Kool-Aid drinkers. Some (like me) do it for a living, while others dabble in it with friends and neighbors as a hobby. Since most of us came from somewhere else, we chose metro Denver as our hometown - and we want the world to know why. HSBC gets behind Microsoft/Novell in Linux consolidation move HSBC plans to standardize its data centers on Microsoft and SUSE by Phil Hochmuth, Network World, March 21, 2007 http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/linux/2007/0319linux2.html Call it drinking the Kool-Aid, or just accepting business/IT reality — but more and more large enterprises are jumping on board the Microsoft/Novell agreement to provide support and interoperability between Windows and Linux. From The Emperor Has No Clothes File: Microsoft’s Vista sales claims don’t add up by MacDailyNews, March 27, 2007 http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/13111/ “Microsoft’s claim of 20 million Vista licenses sold simply doesn’t add up when trying to assess who realistically bought them in the time frame—’in the opening month’—stated in today’s press release,” Joe Wilcox reports for eWeek’s Microsoft Watch.”Further, the press release claims that ‘Windows Vista made a splash in its debut,’” Wilcox reports.Wilcox asks, “What kind of Kool-Aid are they drinking up there in Redmond? Who spiked the Windows Vista-logo soda cans?” Some more free trade Kool-Aid with ethanol by Alan Guebert, Bismarck (ND) Farm and Ranch Guide, March 29, 2007 http://www.farmandranchguide.com/articles/2007/03/29/ag_news/letters_and_editorial/letter02.txt Everything ethanol touches seems to get giddy on either the grain alcohol’s future or its fumes… So, in the circular logic that drives much of the U.S. ethanol industry, more tax-break driven, environmentally questionable coastal drilling for a natural, clean-burning fuel will now power additional production of a subsidized grain that will then be converted into another, heavier-subsidized fuel… If that recipe … appears at odds with free market policies promoted by groups like NCGA, keep in mind that the Kool-Aid being mixed here includes ethanol. Stupid Investment of the Week Readers’ responses to columns help illustrate smart investing principles by Chuck Jaffe, MarketWatch, March 29, 2007 http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/readers-reactions-help-illustrate-smart/story.aspx?guid=%7BF4CB1A2B-2C27-4891-B8C4-4D5D7F91E56F%7D BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- A lot of stupid things happen in the name of good investing. Question: “…A return-of-premium feature in an insurance policy doesn’t raise the consumer’s costs, it lowers them... to zero!…” From Bob W. Answer: Bob doesn’t say if he’s in the insurance business or if he’s just a customer, but he sure has swallowed the Kool-Aid passed out by people selling return-of-premium policies. Dvorak Isn’t Drinking the iPhone Kool-Aid, Thinks Apple Should Can the Device March 29, 2007 http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/dvorak-isnt-drinking-the-iphone-kool+aid-thinks-apple-should-can-the-device-248208.php Cheers, John C. Dvorak. I will clank my anti-iPhone Kool-Aid with you. In Dvorak’s latest MarketWatch column he boldly goes where very few technology journalists go. He declares war on the iPhone and suggests that Apple should pull the plug on the gadget before it is too late. Risk Nation by Michael. J. Panzner, The Market Oracle, April 7, 2007 http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article711.html Many Americans have adopted a somewhat similar perspective in their day-to-day financial lives. Don’t make enough to keep up with the Joneses? Just charge the credit card. Don’t have enough to buy a home? Borrow 100% of what you need… Governments at all levels are in the same thrall. How else can you explain politicians who talk, talk, talk about fiscal responsibility, but who continue to advocate ever-escalating spending and borrowing nonetheless? Or who insist on using almost Dickensian pay-as-you-go accounting systems that ignore mind-boggling financial obligations that our children -- and our children’s children -- will ultimately be responsible for? One problem, of course, is that many have drunk the Kool-Aid that says we can grow our way out of each and every mess. In that delusory state, they carry on as before. What we can learn from Michael Eisner by Deborah Cole Micek and John-Paul Micek, Honololu Star Bulletin, April 8, 2007 http://starbulletin.com/2007/04/08/business/success.html If you haven’t heard, Michael Eisner has partnered with MySpace to promote his “Prom Queen” series. No, he didn’t drink the new media Kool-Aid like every blog and new media evangelist out there is saying. He’s just a smart businessman. How and what can we learn from Eisner? The “how” part is quite simple -- just observe! The US Economy financed by debt and excessive speculation - Cliff- Google Attacked Over Webmaster Relations Search Engine Roundtable, May 9, 2007 http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/013423.html Google Defines Webmaster Dialogue and Thinking: Today’s webmaster so intellectually lazy they actually believe that the best information is going to come from a heavily moderated Google Groups forum. Today’s webmaster confuses helpful information with what is essentially Kool-Aid that is being posted on Matt Cutts blog. Thank you for smoking, have some more kool aid. Todays webmaster is so compliant, complacent, and utterly sheep-like they are willingly surrendering highly personal data to Google without understanding how it ultimately benefits Google far more than it benefits them. Do You Drink The Google Kool Aid? by Steve Bradley, Webpronews, May 11, 2007 http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2007/05/11/the-google-kool-aid In general I like Google. I wouldn’t say I’m drinking the punch, but I like them as a company. In comparison to Yahoo, MSN, and Ask, I think Google gets it right more often. That doesn’t make them perfect and that doesn’t mean I’m always going to do what they say. I don’t look to them for my moral compass and I don’t always believe everything a googler says. Secret to WestJet’s success lies in its people, culture: Durfy by Cliff Wells, The Western Star, May 16, 2007 http://www.thewesternstar.com/index.cfm?sid=29989&sc=26 Listening to Sean Durfy, it’s hard not to adopt his company’s work philosophy and drink what he calls “teal Kool-Aid.” The chief executive officer of WestJet spoke to the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade on Tuesday, a day after the airlines inaugural flight to Deer Lake for seasonal service. “Some people make it at WestJet and some people don’t, and usually they know in the first six months,” Durfy said. “Either you’re in, or you’re out. “Some people say, ‘oh my God, I’ve got to drink the Kool-Aid’ and they call it the ‘teal Kool-Aid.’ It’s because we have a certain culture and a certain set of principals we guide our lives by. GE’s Ecomagination: Green is Universal by Cassie Walker, GreenOptions.com, May 29, 2007 http://www.greenoptions.com/2007/05/29/ges_ecomagination_green_is_universal Last week, on the second anniversary of the launch of GE’s ecomagination initiative, the company held a massive press conference in Los Angeles to announce its many new partnerships. Since this was a press conference, I was skeptical of the information to be provided…was this just going to be one big GE commercial love fest? And perhaps more importantly, would I drink the Kool-Aid? The answer on both questions? Yes and no. Are You Ready for Digital Free Agency? Ann All, ITBusiness Edge, May 31, 2007 http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/sts/?p=147 “Digital free agents” who are unwilling or unable to work a 40-hour work week, according to Gartner. The firm advises employers to prepare now by developing new descriptions for more flexible jobs that can be accomplished in 20 hours a week. Unlike some observers, who believe the blurring of lines between work and home environments and proliferation of technology is making folks work longer and harder, Gartner says these trends will benefit both employees and employers — not to mention the IT departments that are willing to swallow the consumerization Kool-Aid. Mergers & Acquisitions: The Corporate Kool-Aid by Margaret Heffernan, Huffington Post, May 31, 2007 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-heffernan-/mergers-acquisitions-t_b_50192.html When DaimlerBenz CEO Schrempp called the ‘merger’ with Chrysler “a merger of equals” -- what was he drinking? It must have been the same corporate Kool-Aid that TimeWarner and AOL found so refreshing, that Vivendi’s Jean-Marie Messier thought would make him the hottest ticket in town.… Of course the big men responsible for the deal didn’t suffer; it was the little people -- shareholders, retirees, employees -- who took the hit. The people to whom lipservice is regularly paid, who don’t take the decisions but inevitably suffer the consequences. As the Bancroft family mulls over how to stave off Rupert Murdoch, what will keep them from the Kool-Aid?… The bankers don’t work for you; they work for themselves. They may pass out the Kool-Aid but please note: they don’t drink it. Take advice from bright people whose only interest is in the continuing vitality and success of you and your firm. mobiSiteGalore Brings Standards -- Yes, Standards! -- to Mobile Web Design by Angela Natividad, cms.com, May 31, 2007 http://www.cmswire.com/cms/mobile/mobisitegalore-brings-standards-yes-standards-to-mobile-web-design-001330.php Because there aren’t enough 2.0s out there already, Akmin just launched version 2.0 of its mobile site builder mobiSiteGalore. And it’s got lots of new features! (Here is where Club Web 2.0 lifts the Kool-Aid up for another toast.) The existing mobile site builder now includes what we’d typically call new features, but it would be more apt to call them stock components of the mania. Believing the hype on .Mac-Google by Michael Rose, tuaw.com, June 10, 2007 http://www.tuaw.com/2007/06/10/believing-the-hype-on-mac-google/ Forget about not paying attention to other people; sometimes I don’t even pay attention to myself. Just four days ago, I went on record in the TUAW predictions post for WWDC with “the .Mac offering becomes an Apple-branded version of Google Apps Premier.” Mayhap I should drink my own Kool-Aid, if I’m going to go to the trouble of mixing up a pitcherful. The End of Time? Ann Moore on the Future of Big Brands Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2007 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118193332585536993.html?mod=mm_hs_media The entire pot of print advertising dollars was surpassed by the pot of online dollars in mid ‘06. That happened a full year faster than anybody would have predicted, and so we were ready.… The really big breakthrough is that [the editorial department] drank the Kool-Aid. The editors of Time Inc. really don’t fear the Web anymore. The people who are leading the charge are the writers. When you realized that you could write online, and you would get thousands of readers responding, disagreeing, arguing, it was really great. (Ann Moore is chairman and chief executive of Time Inc.) Paulson Drinks the Kool-Aid by Chris Gaffney, The Daily Reckoning, June 21, 2007 http://www.dailyreckoning.com/Writers/Butler/Articles/062107.html “I find it a little funny that while U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson states that the mortgage mess is ‘no problem’, others who are obviously more removed from the situation see it as a ticking time bomb.” Floater Vertical Laptop Stand: Pretty and Pricey by Charlie Sorrel, wired.com, June 27, 2007 http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/06/floater-vertica.html The price for this single chunk of alloy? To you, a mere $305. I guess the marketing department is on the same Kool-Aid as the design team: “Our designs often begin with our dreams or imagination. We often imagine objects floating through the air, slightly surreal.” FTC Drinks The Telco Kool-Aid by Jason Lee Miller, WebProne News.com, June 28, 2007 http://www.webpronews.com/insiderreports/2007/06/28/ftc-drinks-the-telco-kool-aid It’s sad to think parts of our free market economy have failed, become gummed up by the sludge of its own engine. It’s supposed to work, to drive us, keep us ahead of everyone. Only, it’s not so much anymore, the engine is aging, and though we try to wish it away, reality is setting in, even as vested storytellers perpetuate the myth to keep us wishing. So the FTC, after researching the matter of Net Neutrality, has come out in opposition, coming to the perplexing conclusion that lack of choices for broadband access and tight control over development is driving more competition in the space, not less. The commission is drinking the same Kool-Aid as the FCC lately, it would seem, which has some amnesia-causing agent within. (includes picture of Kool-Aid drinker) Avoid the Bullish Kool-Aid by Rev Shark, RealMoney.com, July 2, 2007 http://www.thestreet.com/p/_googlen/rmoney/revsharkblog/10365952.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=PREMIUM&cm_ite=003956 The subprime debt and spike up in interest rates are being forgotten so far today, but we shouldn’t be too comfortable with the idea that they no longer matter. The trading today is more a function of new money coming in on the first of the month and some self-fulfilling prophecies as to positive holiday trading. It certainly is pretty good action, but it is just a temporary respite that will probably end fairly fast. Do some trades and don’t be overly negative but don’t start drinking the bullish Kool-Aid and believing that we no longer have any issues that could affect the market negatively. Pariah columnist shuns Apple-flavored Kool-Aid by Jonathan Sidener, San Diego Union-Tribune, July 9, 2007 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/tech/personaltech/20070709-9999-mz1b9sidener.html I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Apple store lately, playing with the new iPhone. It’s cool and innovative. It’s beautiful and chic. Customers line up two deep, sometimes three, to gawk and touch the new gadget. On June 29, shortly after Apple’s latest went on sale, I stole a few moments from my deadline reporting to hold the curvy gadget and run my fingers across its touch screen to launch Web pages and YouTube video. There’s something seductive about the iPhone. Home Builder Confidence: Lowest Level Since 1991 by Diana Olick, CNBC, July 17, 2007 http://www.cnbc.com/id/19810308 It’s not a surprise, but it’s a pretty steep fall. Confidence among the 300 or so U.S. builders surveyed by the National Association of Home Builders slipped from 28 in June to 24 in July. This is the lowest level on the index since January of 1991, at the start of the Gulf War… [But NAHB economist Dave] Seiders sounds a bit like he’s sipping the Kool-Aid this month: “In spite of these challenges, we expect to see home sales get back on an upward path late this year and we expect housing starts to begin a gradual recovery process by early next year.” IBM goes from Big Blue to Very Green It’s cutting power use by consolidating data centers with Linux mainframes by Todd R. Weiss, ComputerWorld, August 01, 2007 http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9028618 IBM is drinking its own green Kool-Aid, embarking on a huge energy-conservation project to consolidate about 3,900 of its own servers in six locations around the world, reducing power use by about 80% and saving $250 million on electricity, support and software over five years. Dell Talks Linux Virtualization Redux by Sean Michael Kerner, InternetNews, August 8, 2007 http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3693121 Sometimes, the promises that vendors make on a show stage turn out to be empty. That’s not the case with Dell. In an afternoon keynote session at LinuxWorld, Dell CTO Kevin Kettler demonstrated the virtualization that he touted 18 months ago at LinuxWorld Boston… Kettler expects that embedded virtualization will not only improve utilization but power usage as well, since it’s part of the boot process. Drinking the Linux Kool-Aid is also something that Kettler was keen on doing while at LinuxWorld. He told the audience that Dell has over 3,000 Linux servers in its data centers. Worshiping at the altar of technology by Michael Parsons, Times of London, August 31, 07 http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article2364133.ece If you get too excited about technology you end up in Silicon Valley, where pretty much everyone is either making, drinking, or selling Kool-Aid about the potential for technology to make wondrous things happen. Don’t Drink the CAFE Kool-Aid National Center for Policy Analysis, September 6 07 http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=14982 To bolster support for these new corporate average fuel economy standard (CAFE) rules, proponents purport to show that increasing the CAFE standard to 35 miles per gallon would generate economic benefits to carmakers and consumers, say Robert Crandall, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution and Hal J. Singer, president of Criterion Economics. These claims, however, do not bear out. Expert on HousingHas Her Own Nest Didn’t Drink the Kool-Aid by Michael Corkery, Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2007 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118954743875724257.html?mod=googlenews_wsj [Ivy] Zelman was one of the first Wall Street analysts to warn about issues that could sink the housing industry, such as a flood of speculators buying new homes, an oversupply of land and problems posed by subprime mortgages. She questioned bullish home builders, who believed home sales would keep booming, and asked one chief executive during a conference call last December, “I am wondering which Kool-Aid you’re drinking?” Management Matters with Mike Myatt: Is an Org Chart an Asset or a Waste of Time? by Mike Myatt, Commercial Property News, September 14, 2007 http://www.cpnonline.com/cpn/content_display/business-management/management-strategies/e3i5fe9ccc1e6618010dd55b31cac7f1162 Over the years I’ve seen every type of “org” chart in existence. Some have come and gone only to come again. Every year or two the latest revolutionary thinking in corporate organizational theory spawns a new form of charting. The dynamics of corporate organization are so revered by B-school professors and management consultants that an entire generation of corporate management has drunk the “org” chart Kool-Aid. These managers often rush to adopt the latest thinking without any consideration for whether or not the new form of structure is even appropriate for their business. *Sports* Wish list for local sports fans by Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News, December 22, 2006 http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/sports.aspx?articleid=144460&zoneid=23 Time to dig through the Santa Sack for some last-minute stocking stuffers: … For the Boston Red Sox, a good health insurance policy for J.D. Drew. He isn’t even signed yet, and the oft-injured outfielder already has shoulder issues. Seventy million dollars over five years, for 115 games a year? Even the Kool-Aid drinkers will come to question that one. Dennis Michael Cummings (obituary) Tuscaloosa News, December 27, 2006 http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061227/NEWS/612270317/1015/SPORTS Dennis Michael Cummings, age 56, of Huntsville, formerly of Tuscaloosa, departed this life on Dec. 25, 2006.… He was a great admirer of Coach Bryant and had been heard to say, “Yes, I have drunk the Bear Bryant kool-aid.” Ravens Q&A with Mike Preston Sun columnist discusses the Ravens’ win over the Bills, the NFL playoffs Baltimore Sun, January 2, 2007 http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-prestonqa1231,0,12824.story?coll=bal-sports-football Deep down in my basement, under the sofa and in a corner, I have a container. Inside the container is a liquid and I think it’s [Ravens] Kool-Aid. I’ll be drinking it in Miami. You can just feel this is Colts’ day, can’t you? by Ben Smith, The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, January 13, 2007 http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/16453538.htm This thing can happen now, you suddenly realize. And, no, you do not have to be a loon to say that anymore, or to chug some yummy blue Kool-Aid, or to be one of those guys who paints a white horseshoe on his azure chest in hopes of getting a little face time on national TV, even if the face time engenders this response: “Come in here, Martha, and get a load o’ this idiot.” This thing can happen now. The Indianapolis Colts can go to Baltimore today, and they can win. Dos Santos: ‘NASCAR drives me crazy’ by Hugo dos Santos, Rutgers-Newark Observer, February 27, 2007 http://media.www.rutgersobserver.com/media/storage/paper822/news/2007/02/27/Sports/Dos-Santos.Hell.On.Wheels-2749140.shtml For the last few months now, my friend Walt has tirelessly tried to convert me over to NASCAR. He wants me to watch, as millions around the country religiously do, every second of every race. Basically, he wants me to drink the Kool-Aid. So far, I’ve been able to resist. Mistaking decisions for conspiracies by Jay Bilas, ESPN Insider, March 12, 2007 http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney07/insider/columns/story?columnist=bilas_jay&id=2795657&action=login&appRedirect= http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2fncaatourney07%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dbilas_jay%26id%3d2795657 Now that Digger and I have had the chance to calm down and have a nice, tall glass of “big-conference Kool-Aid,” it’s time to take another measured look at the brackets, and to look back at one of the best days of the college basketball season, Selection Sunday. Ten Reasons to Be-Leery by Jeff Glauser, The Phanatic Magazine, April 2, 2007 http://daily.phanaticmag.com/2007/04/ten-reasons-to-be-leery.html What’s going on here? Where is all this optimism coming from? While we made the smooth transition to accepting mediocrity and ineptitude, respectively, for our Sixers and Flyers, and while others continue to battle with their Jeff Garcia Kool-Aid aftertaste in Eagle-land, something strange began to occur with fans of the losingest franchise in sport: They began to believe. Devils drinking Lou’s Kool-Aid? Players say they had no role in Julien’s firing by Bruce Garrioch, Sun Media, April 4, 2007 http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/NewJersey/2007/04/04/3915610-sun.html The firing of New Jersey Devils coach Claude Julien on Monday sent shockwaves around the hockey world. Even the Devils players didn’t see it coming, at least that’s what they’re saying on the record. It’s being whispered that the players, who make their home in the locker room controlled by president/GM and, now, coach Lou Lamoriello, were behind the firing. But nobody is willing to admit it. CBS Double Bogies on Masters Coverage by Scott Goldberg, Digital Media Wire, April 5, 2007 http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2007/04/05/cbs-double-bogies-on-masters-coverage Anyone that tried CBS’s March Madness on Demand was a winner. I was so giddy with the experience that I wrote, “Today CBS earned a dedicated supporter. Moreover, I’ll try their freebies in the future, knowing I’ll have a great experience.” Three weeks later, after a day with Masters Live, it’s now clear the Kool-Aid was spiked with something stronger than vodka. Never has a hangover set in so far from the first pull. I’m embarrassed by those lame words. Ruskell’s Future: Fantastic or Frenetic? by Ryan Davis, Seahawks.NET, April 8, 2007 http://seahawks.scout.com/2/633765.html At the end of his first full season as GM, it appeared that [Tim] Ruskell could no wrong. He became the face of a franchise’s long overdue ascenst into legitimacy. He quickly endeared himself to any knowledgeable NFL fan. He did this by approaching his position without fanfare and by adhering to a method that honored instincts and character over the all too familiar shortcomings of high-priced free agents/trades.… I was first in line to accept every transaction Ruskell made, every NFL cliché he spewed, and gladly gulp any Kool-aid he passed my way. Rangers Drinking Washington’s Kool-Aid by Stephen Hawkins, AP Sports Writer, April 9, 2007 http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/09/sports/s210606D69.DTL While the Texas Rangers have long been known for their slugging ways, rookie manager Ron Washington has stressed having a versatile offense with clutch hitting. His team is starting to get the message. “We knew all the while that we were capable of doing the things that we are starting to do,” Washington said. “It’s starting to come together.” Urlacher fined for not drinking NFL’s Kool-Aid Philadelphia Daily News, April 19, 2007 http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20070419_Urlacher_fined_for_not_drinking_NFLs_Kool-Aid.html Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was fined $100,000 by the NFL for wearing a cap during Super Bowl media day that promoted a sponsor not authorized by the league. NFL rules prohibit gear that advertises any product but a designated sponsor, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said yesterday. ESPN’s melodramatic NFL draft coverage? It’s laughable by Bob Molinaro, The Virginian-Pilot, April 23, 2007 http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=123377&ran=89874 NFL draft day - counting down to Saturday - is as silly as it ever was. OK, maybe it’s time to cut back on references to Kiper’s big hair and move on to his big board, another sacred target worth lampooning. I get the sense, though, that the line of people waiting to deride the draft process is a lot shorter than it used to be. That poking fun at the draft is out of fashion. Not all of us are drinking the Kool-Aid. I just don’t get it. I don’t understand what’s so interesting about waiting around to see who the Falcons take in the third round. Carter not worried about shot selection Staten Island Advance, April 25, 2007 http://www.silive.com/sports/advance/index.ssf?/base/Sports/1177498854163430.xml&coll=1 [New Jersey Nets basketball star Vince Carter] is 13 for 34 (.302) in this series. In four games here this year, he is 22 for 75 (.293). Not all of them can be good shots. Unless you’re drinking from the same pitcher of Kool-Aid. “He had a lot of great looks,” Jason Kidd insisted, ignoring that Carter had exactly three paint scores all game. Brewers will win division by Pete Barth, Sheboygan Press, May 6, 2007 http://www.sheboygan-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070506/SHE07/705060507/1894/SHEsports OK, I’ll say it: Barring significant injuries, the Milwaukee Brewers will win the NL Central this season. Yup, I’m riding the bandwagon, drinking the Kool-Aid – feel free to apply any other cliche that means being blinded by optimism. Lack of Quarterback Depth a Possible Problem for 2007 by Dustin Snyder, seahawkshuddle, May 23, 2007 http://www.seahawkshuddle.com/v1/portal.php?topic_id=15396 They say Romo wasn’t built in a day. Or something like that. Friends, countrymen: let me borrow your eyes for a moment.… I was nearly ready to put Romo’s name in the Ring. I drank the Kool-Aid, and it was good. Oh, the Kool-Aid. But then reality set in. Tony Romo started playing like a second-string quarterback. Facebook Phenomena by Martine Gaillard, sportsnet.ca, May 24, 2007 http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/martine_gaillard/2007/05/24/facebook_phenomena/ In case you haven’t noticed, Facebook is taking over the world.… But it wasn’t until a headline on Sportsnet.ca screamed “Facebook Breaks TFC Trade” that I knew it could no longer be ignored. Not only am I drinking the “Facebook Kool-Aid” after repeated invites to join from friends and colleagues; to the point I had to find out first hand what all the hype was about. But it appears as though some professional athletes are hooked too. This Pats hopeful is worth shot by Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald, June 7, 2007 http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1005230 The biggest test of the Bill Belichick Era stands 6-foot-4 with tight cornrows and a chip on his shoulder that is bigger than Wes Welker. The Patriots can lead Randy Moss to the Kool-Aid, but can they make him drink? What the Billy Donovan Story Says About America by Rip Summersby, Bleacher Report, June 8, 2007 http://www.bleacherreport.com/mamlog-section/general-blogs/what-the-billy-donovan-story-says-about-america-200706081530/ You’ve always got to look out for Number One. At the beginning of the week, I called Billy Donovan a chicken for backing out his contract with the Orlando Magic. I caught some flak for that sentiment—mostly from Kool-Aid drinking Gator Nationals who would follow Donovan to Cuba, after everything the coach has done for the Florida program. I’ve since had time to rethink my position, and it occurs to me that maybe Billy Donovan wasn’t scared when he beat it out of Orlando. Maybe—as some of his supporters suggested—he was just doing what he had to do. ‘Good Morning America’ anchor transcends sports by Michael Pointer, Indianapolis Star, June 22, 2007 http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070622/SPORTS05/706220435 Robin Roberts’ roots are in sports, but few reporters have interviewed a more eclectic mix of personalities. Asked who is the more fascinating interview, NBA legend Michael Jordan or former president Bill Clinton, she responded this way: “It is so different, yet it’s much the same animal. They’re people that are the best of what they do, the best of the game. As big as Michael Jordan is, I drank the Kool-Aid when I was in sports. I thought it was everything. But when I traveled to South Africa with Bill Clinton on his AIDS initiative, it was like traveling with a rock star.’’ Kitna Drinking Too Much Kool-Aid? by James Alder, About Football, June 29, 2007 http://football.about.com/b/a/258150.htm Man, is this 2007 version of the Detroit Lions fun or what? First, quarterback Jon Kitna predicted the Lions will win more than 10 games this year. Then wide receiver Mike Furrey upped the ante just days later by saying the team would easily win 10-to-12 games and make the playoffs. For a team that won just three games in 2006, this squad certainly doesn’t appear to be lacking in confidence, that’s for sure. Friends, Family and Falzone: Decisions, Decisions by Craig Falzone, Yahoo Sports, July 10, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/mlb/news?slug=cf-fff_071007 When I was about 9 or 10, “Choose Your Own Adventure” books were all the rage. I remember one book was a murder mystery. Some rich guy named Harlowe Thrombey turned up dead and you were the detective on the case. Every few pages you’d be given a choice. Something like “The maid has offered you a refreshing glass of purple Kool-Aid. To drink it, turn to page 11. To run the hell out of there as fast as you can, turn to page 12.” … Anyway, my point is, you had to make lots and lots of decisions in each book. Not unlike when you’re managing a fantasy baseball team. OSU fans have Georgia on the mind and are optimistic about the defense by John Rohde, The Oklahoman, July 27, 2007 http://newsok.com/article/3092614 Optimism reigns supreme this time of year in college football, with the season opener still more than a month away and practice yet to begin. Everyone’s unbeaten, which means everyone’s a believer until further notice. At pep rallies throughout America, loyal worshipers gladly swallow their school-colored Kool-Aid to prove their unwavering belief. Sports Redux: The Youth Movement is Dead! Long Live the King! by Michael Femia, The Bostonist, July 31, 2007 http://bostonist.com/2007/07/31/sports_redux_th_6.php Green Kool-Aid is our favorite flavor. (Yes, Green is a flavor.) We’ve been chugging the semi-sour variety of it for three years now, as Danny Ainge has told us that we’d been assembling key parts for a magical youth movement that would lead the Celtics back to glory. And we’ve sipped the ultra-sour variety for a month, trying to figure out what kind of a youth movement features a creaky 32-year-old shooter. But today, the Kool-Aid has a different flavor. You can still see how the C’s youth movement would have gone, but you’ll have to get NBA League Pass and watch the Timberwolves. Danny’s betting the farm, his job and our collective sanity on the idea that three aging stars [are more than] six promising kids. Cards need to pull plug on 2007, get ready for ‘08 by Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 6, 2007 http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/berniemiklasz/story/C1932982B75B19648625732F00132088?OpenDocument Is it possible to have an adult conversation? Can we put down the Kool-Aid for a few minutes? Can we take a serious view of the St. Louis Cardinals and see them as a competitive entity in a multi-billion dollar industry instead of treating them as sad-eyed Little Leaguers who need our motherly-fatherly love? Sports, and fantasy, gone mad by Mike Gross, Lancaster News, August 5, 2007 http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/207769 COMMENTARY - This Space is a contrarian, evidently. Unlike America, I only like football. I am not in mad, obsessive, Kool-Aid-guzzling love with it. Turning the page Ohio State, 13 new starters, try to put Gator-bashing behind them by Jim O’Donnell, Chicago Sun Times, August 17, 2007 http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/512931,CST-SPT-osu17.article Jim Tressel enters his seventh season in Columbus once again atop a program in transition. He has lost 13 starters (seven offense, six defense), including seven of the Buckeyes’ nine first-team All-Big Ten selections. ‘‘Fortunately, I’ve been through a lot of tough losses and know that the good programs bounce back. This will be my 22nd year as a head coach, and if you don’t admit that you’ve drank the Kool-Aid, sustained some rough hits, you’re not being honest.’’ Expecting an Animal of a season by Mitch Vingle, The Charleston Gazette, August 18, 2007 http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/Sports/WVU/2007081820 Yes, I drank the gold and blue Kool-Aid last year. Predicted West Virginia’s football team to go undefeated during the regular season. Instead, the Mountaineers finished 11-2. The crystal (ball) wasn’t clear. A game that dares to be different by Nik Lampros, Daily Bruin, September 6, 2007 http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/sep/06/i_game_dares_be_differenti/ I have a confession to make: For most of my life, I’ve cared a lot more about the NFL than college football … [but] since I’ve come to UCLA I’ve started drinking the Kool-Aid of the college game. Where do they go from here? One loss does not a season make by Matt Bunch, The Miami Hurricane, September 13, 2007 http://media.www.thehurricaneonline.com/media/storage/paper479/news/2007/09/13/Sports/Where.Do.They.Go.From.Here-2966248.shtml So the game is finally over, and it’s time to lick the wounds. The 51-13 final score was definitely a thumpin’, something I certainly didn’t expect. … Many observers of the ‘Canes (including myself) drank the Kool-Aid, thinking that with Randy Shannon at the helm, the ‘Canes would instantly turn around, and the woes that have plagued the team would immediately vanish. A foolish opinion indeed. “The” UW 45, The Citadel 31 (final) by The (Madison, WI) Capital Times, September 15, 2007 http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/uw/football/244707 Badgers fans appear to be drinking coach Bret Bielema’s Kool-Aid. With the exception of the south end zone -- where a spectrum of high school colors dot the stands on Band Day -- and the three rows behind The Citadel bench, Camp Randall is almost universally red. *Culture* All Data Fox-Checked For Accuracy by Scott G, Advertising Industry Newswire, March 4, 2007 http://advertisingindustrynewswire.com/2007/03/04/245_023113.php With the advancement of made-up news that is so prevalent at Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and far too many other places, the public is starting to take everything with a grain of salt. Actually, many who tune to the faux news channels are obviously taking it with bags of salt, after which they wash it down with Kool-Aid. Trade Round-Up: Another Memo To Tom Cruise defamer.com, March 9, 2007 http://defamer.com/hollywood/trade-roundup/trade-roundup-another-memo-to-tom-cruise-243109.php Variety chief Peter Bart pens yet another memo to Tom Cruise, this time encouraging his successor at United Artists to ignore the skepticism of the press, take a big swig of some Oprah-endorsed positivity Kool-Aid, and realize that he’s not the only one in this town trying to figure out how to run a studio. Consumer Group: Wolfgang Puck Drinks Animal Rights Kool-Aid Future Menu At Spago: Veggies, Bread, And Not Much Else Center For Consumer Freedom, March 23, 2007 http://www.consumerfreedom.com/pressRelease_detail.cfm/release/194 Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s headfirst dive into the animal-rights movement will eventually backfire, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom warned today. The telegenic but delusional Puck has announced a wholesale revamping of his menu, based on the teachings of radical animal-rights activists at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Puck’s gimmicky new “Wolfgang’s Eating, Loving, and Living” (WELL) platform confuses healthful eating with animal rights orthodoxy. Facebook follies can have serious drawbacks by Chris Tomkins ‘07, The Hawk, Saint Joseph’s University, March 28, 2007 http://media.www.sjuhawknews.com/media/storage/paper763/news/2007/03/28/Opinion/Facebook.Follies.Can.Have.Serious.Drawbacks-2793965.shtml Face it. We all like getting poked once in a while. When Saint Joseph’s University was added to the Facebook network, we were split in two categories: the Kool-Aid drinkers and the haters. Now, two years later, even most of those who were the most vehement Facebook-haters at the start have been coaxed into making profiles. No religion is any better than others by Kim Cichelli, Red and Black, University of Georgia, March 28, 2007 http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2007/03/28/Opinions/No.Religion.Is.Any.Better.Than.Others-2807812.shtml I have been told that I’m going to hell before, not due to debauchery or lechery but because of my religion.… We need to stop criticizing each other for our beliefs. We need to stop judging each other because of our faith. We need to stop killing each other because of religion. Faith is an ever-evolving entity that is so personal it should be held close. We should all be able to share our thoughts and beliefs as a means of communicating and sharing information, not to have an end-goal of converting people to our religion. Nothing will make me shut down quicker than someone trying to shove their religion down my throat, and many people I know feel the same way. I would love to hear your thoughts, but no thank you, I don’t want to drink the Kool-Aid. Enough with the “Kool-Aid drinker” already! Newshounds, April 28, 2007 http://www.newshounds.us/2007/04/28/enough_with_the_koolaid_drinker_already.php Bill O’Reilly, a host on FOX News Channel, frequently accuses people who disagree with him of being “Kool-Aid drinkers,” a reference to the tragedy at Jonestown, inferring they can’t think for themselves. He uses the iconic little Kool-Aid man in his graphics. I am wondering, as someone who usually disagrees with Mr. O’Reilly, if Kraft Foods endorses Mr. O’Reilly’s disparagement of the large percentage of the American public who are not aligned with Mr. O’Reilly’s rather extreme outlook. As a consumer, I would like to know if my grocery money is going towards supporting an ideology which I don’t personally support. I am asking, as a consumer of Kraft products, that Kraft instruct Mr. O’Reilly to cease and desist in his use of the phrase “Kool-Aid drinker” and its variants, and to cease and desist in using the Kool-Aid pitcher-man icon. If I see that he persists in the use of the phrase and icon, I’ll assume that Kraft is endorsing his use of their product as a disparagement of myself and millions of other moderate-to-liberal Americans, and will adjust my shopping habits accordingly. Little Geniuses: What Kind Of Praise Do Kids Need To Hear? by Emily Bazelon, slate.com, May 11, 2007 http://www.slate.com/id/2165995/ A personality test for narcissism given to college students every year shows an inexorable rise, with today’s students being on average 30 percent more narcissistic than the students of 1982. Substitute “self-esteem” for “narcissism” and the results suddenly look rosy, but you simply can’t, because all the $10 trophies and the lavish praise of mediocrity, or even failure, doesn’t really bolster kids’ self-worth. They drink the Kool-Aid, but they also know it.