tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88916876526463002832024-03-05T08:54:39.953-08:00Stevie GuideStephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-77013823868472225752013-05-21T11:14:00.000-07:002013-05-21T11:16:31.167-07:00The Problem With BiblesIn case you missed it, <a href="http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/22259059/deal-bibles-to-be-returned-to-guest-cabins-at-ga-parks" target="_blank">here's the story</a><br />
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"Governor Nathan Deal says the state plans to return Bibles to guest cabins and lodge rooms at Georgia parks.<br />
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"Department of Natural Resources managers recently ordered the removal of Bibles while a final decision was made on the response to a citizen complaint about the presence of Bibles on state property."</blockquote>
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"The governor said that he expected the Bibles to be returned quickly. Deal said that he and the state attorney general have agreed that the state is on firm legal footing returning the Bibles to state lodges and cabin"</blockquote>
So what's the problem? The state isn't paying for the bibles - the Gideons are. If Christians want to read the bible in their state-owned cabins and lodge rooms, why should anyone care? Non-Christians aren't being forced to read them, after all. Isn't removing the bibles from the rooms the <i>real</i> violation of religious freedom?<br />
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Um, no. See, the bibles aren't there for deeply devout bible-reading Christians. I've never met one of them who didn't have his or her <i>own</i> bible. Usually several of them. Almost always including a pocket-sized New Testament, often a traveling paperback in a protective zippered cover and nowadays a Kindle or online link stored on their iPhones. They are welcome to bring their bibles and read them, and they don't need the Gideons.<br />
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So who are the bibles for? In a word, non-believers. A little gift the missionaries at Gideon leaves to help show the light to the damned.<br />
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Proselytizing.<br />
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If that isn't a clear violation of the Establishment clause, I don't know what is. Whether the state pays for it or not. Even if they allow the lost souls a choice between the Bible, the Koran and Dianetics.<br />
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The state has NO business promoting, directly or indirectly, any religion. For all the right wing yammering about slippery slopes, this is the ONE slope down which we are actually in danger of sliding. No one has ever suggested that men should be allowed to marry the box-turtle of choice, but many, many times a government - even our government - has shown real and dangerous preference for a particular set of dogmatic beliefs.<br />
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Get rid of the bibles, Governor Deal. The only public building in which they should be housed is a library, on the shelf in the comparative literature section.<br />
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Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-48019139056924619252013-04-09T13:30:00.003-07:002013-04-09T13:43:40.758-07:00Force Churches To Perform Gay Marriages<a href="http://sprocketink.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/gay_wedding_lo-713823.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sprocketink.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/gay_wedding_lo-713823.gif" width="207" /></a>I think we should. Hear me out:<br />
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See, I'm perfectly fine with churches refusing to perform gay <i>weddings. </i>But a marriage is recognition by a state license. Anyone who is authorized to issue a state license should be required to do so for anyone who legally applies for it, regardless of religious or personal beliefs. You don't see some podunk DMV being allowed to refuse to issue driver's licenses to gays, Jews, or African Americans do you? It's the same issue as a pharmacist being allowed to refuse dispensing legally prescribed drugs because he doesn't think they are being used in accordance with his particular moral view. With authority comes responsibility; acting as a government entity should require acting for all of the citizens of that government.<br />
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Otherwise, go ahead and have the weddings and let the couple have their license issued and signed by the county office.<br />
<br />Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-40556727713794052592013-04-07T09:56:00.001-07:002013-04-07T09:56:30.471-07:00Pascal's Wager, or What Are The Odds?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://marccortez.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/pascal.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://marccortez.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/pascal.jpeg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Blaise Pascal</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I was involved in a discussion on Facebook a couple of days ago in which someone said this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I support gay rights and gun control, but I'm still a Christian. If Christians are wrong then when we die nothing happens, but meanwhile we'll have lived a good, morally guided life and have been good people. But if atheists are wrong they will go to hell. </blockquote>
I didn't put it in quotes because I can't find the exact conversation, but those are the salient points. Most of you will recognize this as <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/" target="_blank">Pascal's Wager</a>, with a rider.<br />
<br />
Here's the problem: If you support gay rights and gun control and the Tea-Party-type fundamentalists are right (and therefore you are wrong,) then you <em>aren't </em>living a good life and will probably go to hell with me. See? There are more than two choices. Swap Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Catholic, Baptist and whatever else you can think of for either side of the argument. Mix and match. It's fun <em>and</em> educational.<br />
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So that's one of the most common objections to the wager, and there are counter objections and debates that that have been bandied about for the last 103 years over it. Now I may <a href="http://stevieguide.blogspot.com/2009/01/starting-over.html" target="_blank">not be an expert</a>, but I do <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Theories-ebook/dp/B00ASESFD2/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top" target="_blank">know something about probability theory</a> and I can assure you that the wager is a losing one - especially when one considers <em>what</em> <em>coin</em> is being wagered. Betting on God is not without cost and the house always wins. But it isn't really the wager I'm bothered by.<br />
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Ir's the rider.<br />
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<strong><em><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> ... meanwhile we'll have lived a good, morally guided life and have been good people. </span></span></em></strong></blockquote>
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This phrase, this highly insulting, despicable, judgmental, asinine fucking phrase on one side of the wager equation means that rational atheists like myself <em>aren't</em> "living good, morally guided" lives or, indeed, being "good people." Because we don't believe in God. It's far too commonly expressed.<br />
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Allow me to retort:<br />
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I am perfectly capable of determining right from wrong without being told what it is in some ancient self-contradictory and often misinterpreted tome whose rules were significantly predated by <em>other</em> even more ancient tomes, and act on those decisions independently of fear of divine eternal retribution or hope of an eternal reward from some imaginary but still admittedly jealous, vengeful bogeyman invented to explain whatever primitive man couldn't readily understand and to control the masses when it seemed they might get out of control.<br />
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In fact, I'd venture that the moral decisions I make are <em>more likely</em> to be correct when based on rational thought with the resources of millennia of accumulated knowledge and observation of immediate circumstances than those based on cherry picked interpretations of translations of texts that generalized rules behavior for uneducated, illiterate mobs of pre-civilized man. <br />
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For example, I realize that while the choice between being a vegan and an omnivore may be a moral one, the choice between eating chicken and pork can be safely obliterated just by cooking the pork enough to eliminate the possibility of trichinosis.<br />
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It's not up to me to tell anyone not to hold their honest religious beliefs (thank god.) Make your own wagers, live your own life. But live yours. Not mine. I know religious people who are wonderful folks, leading "good and morally driven" lives. But they don't have a monopoly on it, and they certainly don't all fall into that category.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-65154844740576732262011-03-19T08:08:00.000-07:002011-03-19T08:33:29.657-07:00Repeat After Me: There is NO Social Security CrisisAs Dave Johnson explains at <a href="http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011031117/todays-social-security-propaganda-rebuttal-post">OurFuture.org</a>, Social Security is a) not in crisis, b) not part of the deficit and c) solvent to 2037 and easy to tweak after that.<div><br /></div><div>What happened was, everyone made fun of Al Gore when he suggested that the government should not be allowed to borrow SS money for other purposes. They reduced his well-thought-out arguments to derisively repeating the word "lockbox" to the tune of "nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa" as though that made him wrong. And then proceeded to borrow the hell out of SS to fund wars and tax cuts for the wealthy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, when the US Govt borrows, it's not like your cousin Ernie. There's collateral, in the form of US Treasury Bonds. Not IOUs. These are interest bearing financial instruments, the kind we all used to buy for our kids to help build a college funds. And yet morons like Tom Coburn are spouting nonsense like this:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; "><blockquote>“</blockquote><blockquote>“We have stolen $2.6 trillion from it. We put paper money in there...[snip] ...There's no question that there's an IOU in there,” Coburn said. “But our country’s borrowing $4 billion a day. There’s no question, if we had the money, we could wait 10 or 15 or 20 years to fix Social Security.</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">It's like this: suppose you put a bunch of cash in your checking account. The bank uses that money to buy bonds. Then when you go to pay the mortgage, they say "sorry, we stole your money, all that's left is an IOU." Then they foreclose your house.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">That's essentially what they're trying to get away with. </span></span></span></div>Dirk Gentlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05210065444706441795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-23190127611248409182011-03-15T14:50:00.000-07:002011-03-15T14:50:15.465-07:00No, No, No; It Is Just Not TrueTime to debunk another lie about public unions: It simply isn't true that if a union has bargaining power then they are not answerable to the taxpayers and can just raise their salary any time they want. It is a lie.<br />
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See, it's called <strong>bargaining</strong> power because they have to .... wait for it ....... <strong>BARGAIN.</strong> As in negotiate. And with whom do they negotiate? Why, with elected officials. Taxpayers' representatives. And since public unions are almost always prohibited from going on strike, guess where the upper hand often sits at that table?<br />
<br />
OK, so they don't have to ask each and every taxpayer for a raise. Their salaries aren't put up for a vote every two years. What kind of quality employees would you end up with if that were the case? Who would want a job with pay and benefits changing from year to year depending on how generous taxpayers felt at the lever?<br />
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But they DO answer to taxpayers through elections.<br />
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It is similar to the way that every other government contract is negotiated. You may vote for someone who does or does not support a bill to build an off-ramp from the interstate in your neighborhood. But once that service is decided on, taxpayers really don't get much say in how much it's going to cost. That's why it's called <strong>representative government.</strong><br />
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So don't let anyone tell you that the unions are running roughshod and are all powerful with no recourse to the voter. It just isn't true.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-65707998621799299252011-03-12T17:58:00.000-08:002011-03-12T17:59:12.300-08:00Grain of truth<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; ">Criticizing those in power is one of our most precious freedoms. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; ">Criticizing those in our own party is one of our greatest responsibilities.</span></div>Dirk Gentlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05210065444706441795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-70584550103398445412011-03-12T12:41:00.000-08:002011-03-12T14:02:56.329-08:00Why Obama Should Change His Shoes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASWUxFbOaBvXaSjjQkPm1rXM9MGSRqMcfghEJreWOqyVTWCV4Hhm7J1h53JToh0Peca48MXkh7WHipUWDhIJX4XvmfwD0kbbrbgkR9MNjfhuEUozlUH5Eq_N9PsjB1-902ENVPxqVa9Y/s1600/shoes.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASWUxFbOaBvXaSjjQkPm1rXM9MGSRqMcfghEJreWOqyVTWCV4Hhm7J1h53JToh0Peca48MXkh7WHipUWDhIJX4XvmfwD0kbbrbgkR9MNjfhuEUozlUH5Eq_N9PsjB1-902ENVPxqVa9Y/s200/shoes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583297908337996050" /></a>The reasons that President Obama should stay away from Wisconsin are as simple as they are irrelevant. Obviously, he can't DO anything about the law stripping public unions of bargaining power. And of course the Fox Newswits will go nuts gleefully calling him a socialist and blathering about States rights. But these things don't matter. No one really wants the federal government overthrowing local laws (unless of course they are determined unconstitutional.) And the pundits will be calling Obama a socialist no matter what he does. <div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, there are some good reasons that it would be the smart thing for him to do. Even if he only showed up for an hour and left Biden behind to carry a sign.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first and somewhat obvious reason is that he said he would do so. Now, I'm not suggesting for a minute that every hyperbolic or allegorical promise a politician makes in a stump speech has to be followed literally. Obama could support the unions from the Oval Office and not be tarred as a flip-flopper or traitor. But Obama needs a grand gesture. He rode into office on a powerful wave of popularity and hope, and failed to keep that wave rolling. The Tea Party wasn't victorious in 2010 because the whole country suddenly changed their minds and decided they didn't want progressive reform after all. They won because Obama was so busy trying to accomplish things that he forgot the importance of exciting people. He admitted as much himself when brooding that income taxes actually went down for Middle Class America, but no one knew about it. Getting out on the street in Madison and showing his comfortable shoes to the camera would go a long way toward helping congressional races in 2012.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second reason is to help the recall movement, and flip another state to a Democratic governor. While the president can't (and shouldn't) call on a state's residents to kick out their governor, he CAN and SHOULD encourage them to stand up for their rights. He needn't ever mention a recall, or even bring up Walker's name. It looks more and more like Wisconsinites are already supporting a recall - assuming the sentiment not only holds but builds. And Obama can be an incredibly motivational speaker when he sets his mind to it. Imagine Obama quoting the same letter that the right wing has misappropriated to claim that FDR was against public unions. You know, <a href="http://patriotpost.us/document/letter-from-fdr-to-president-of-national-federation-of-federal-employees/">this on</a>e, congratulating and agreeing with the national federal workers union in which FDR says</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><blockquote>The desire of Government employees for fair and adequate pay, reasonable hours of work, safe and suitable working conditions, development of opportunities for advancement, facilities for fair and impartial consideration and review of grievances, and other objectives of a proper employee relations policy, is basically no different from that of employees in private industry. </blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Which brings me to the third reason Obama should literally stand with the workers. It would be a video op that the media could not pass up. I'm not talking about Fox or CNN or even msnbc. I'm talking national broadcast news and talk. You know, the big audiences. What better platform to debunk the lies being spread by the right?And who better to debunk them? He's done it before. He's smart - almost as smart as I, and far more personable. The nice thing is, the lies are so stupid and easy to counter. Someone just needs to get the nation's attention and do so.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Finally, it's an excellent opportunity for Obama to begin securing his place in history. It's not enough to be the first African American president. That's an interesting statistic for the record books, but it isn't the way to be remembered. FDR isn't remembered for being the first disabled president - he's remembered for the things he did. If Obama wants to be great, he'd better get moving before he misses his chance.</span></span></div>Dirk Gentlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05210065444706441795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-56601804553386872302011-03-12T05:48:00.000-08:002011-03-12T07:48:49.692-08:00Death of a Thousand CutsIt seems overwhelming. They own the banks. They own the media. They own the government. Soon they'll own the internet. We're not even sure who "they" are. We watch in horror as one state passes a law allowing their governor to dissolve local government and hand towns over to corporate ownership - conspiracy theories are so quaint compared to actual law. We're nauseated when the man we elected with the hope he'd change everything attacks civilians with unmanned killer drones, declares his right to assassinate citizens on his command and indefinitely detain suspects without trial. What can we do?<div><br /></div><div>National Boycotts? Take a look at Koch Industries product list. There's hundreds of them, and no big banner on the packaging saying "Koch - The Fascist Brand." Every napkin you get at a fast food restaurant may be putting pennies in their pockets. How do you keep people motivated dor something like that?</div><div><br /></div><div>Stay at Home Day? Great, emulate a three day weekend. Withhold votes from Blue Dogs? Wonderful, get Rand "The Toilet" Paul elected. Vote straight party line? Take a look at 2009. Besides, it's not really elected officials that are the root problem - it's the money underground that's fertilizing this crop of noxious weeds.</div><div><br /></div><div>A real General Strike? Are we really ready for all out war in the streets against such gargantuan opponents? </div><div><br /></div><div>But maybe there is a way. The dust-up between Madison firefighters and M&I bank gives me hope, and an idea. To hit them where it hurts, and maybe get some attention and engender some fear without being mown down in the streets. </div><div><br /></div><div>A Thousand Cuts. Flash mobs that don't go away. Pinpricks to deflate the zeppelins. Pebbles to start an avalanche.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the deal: firefighters charged that M&I helped finance Walker and thus the overthrow of public union bargaining. So they started an action to withdraw $600k in savings from one branch. After $192k was withdrawn, the branch closed to avoid a run, and M&I came out with a statement that the bank itself doesn't engage in politics and its employees are free to contribute to whomever they want. My point is, so what? M&I is probably no worse than Bank of America or Chase or any other bank. But we can't bring down the whole industry at once (we need it in some form.) Maybe we can't even bring down a whole bank. But we can close one branch. And that hurts. A little. Especially if it never comes back. </div><div><br /></div><div>So my advice to the firefighters is to stay at the one highly visible branch. If it tries to open, go back in and withdraw those funds. From that branch. Don't go into other branches at all - for any kind of business. But keep the focus on one point. And when that branch closes permanently, pick another. Don't even ask for concessions to stop it - who cares if they fire their chairman, the next guy in line is exactly the same. Public apologies or admissions are not enough. Keep it up until real change starts to happen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, let's expand on that. It's really hard to boycott Koch. Because it's hard, less people manage it. So the boycott is ineffective. So less people stay with it. But what if we picked one product, until it disappeared from the shelves forever? Let's say Brawny paper towels. It' easy - plenty of alternatives out there, whether its a competing brand or just using washcloths. The effect will be obvious immediately - imagine every supermarket carrying a glut, slashing prices to dump the stuff, warehouses in Georgia filled with excess capacity. A measurable reduction in inventory. People urging their local grocers to take it off the shelves and replace it with something customers want. </div><div><br /></div><div>And then, when it's gone from the shelves, pick another one. It' good to target companies that have been most egregious, but it doesn't even matter. They are so interconnected, almost any product from any company will do. It's partially the uncertainty that might just get some of the crime bosses to lean on the one that went too far.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turn off Fox News? Nah, they just turn it on in every hotel lobby and sport bar. Better, pick ONE upcoming movie from Fox Searchlight or 20th Century and don't see it. Don't go to the theaters, don't buy the DVD. It doesn't matter which movie or what it's about. As long as the one picked has already been made (and therefore paid for.) Sure, it's a sacrifice, but we can handle it - we'll get to see Paul Rudd in his next movie, they're all the same anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pick a stock. Any stock (ok, probably not an oil company, but any other stock.) Dump it. For whatever we can get. Let the wealthy pass it back and forth amongst themselves and a far lower value. Kill a company - if it was doing anything worthwhile, someone else will step in and recreate the jobs, eventually. This one will hurt a little more, but we can stand it. Suck it up.</div><div><br /></div><div>It can be done. The hardest thing will be finding a central place to announce the actions and some mechanism of picking the next target. But if we could pull it off, and if we don't give up, we might actually be able to apply pressure to the right points and be rewarded with some movement.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because if we don't, we're headed towards a massive breakdown of everything. </div><div><br /></div>Dirk Gentlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05210065444706441795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-630412827923996412010-07-20T20:11:00.001-07:002010-07-20T20:11:47.669-07:00Georgia Primary Results<SPAN style='FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-WEIGHT:Normal;'>Governor Roy Barnes easily wins the Democratic primary. The Republicans will apparently have a run-off b/t Karen "I did NOT say gays are human" Handel and Nathan "I don't care about liberals, I care about you" Deal.<br><br> </SPAN>Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-81839319417156154402010-06-06T18:48:00.000-07:002010-06-06T18:52:50.394-07:00Georgia Politics - Good NewsThis year's gubernatorial race is going to be a good one. That is to say, no matter what happens Georgia will be miles better than it has been under Sonny 'The Chicken' Perdue.<br /><br />First, the Republican. Don't get me wrong, I won't be voting for John Oxendine. A pro-life, pro-gun, Reagan Republican platform that under ordinary circumstances would make me want to puke. BUT - Oxendine has been a very good Insurance commissioner. Implemented some real reforms, worked harder for the people than the inscos (as far as I could see) and despite his conservative creds has been just what one wanted in the position - a public servant. Works hard, gets things done. Of course there's a down side to that - some of the things that he wants to get done are school vouchers, more abortion restrictions, and similar nonsense. But he also opposed state "high risk" health insurance pools because <span style="font-style:italic;">that's something the federal government should do</span>, so there is hope. At least he doesn't want all the gays to go to hell and the Confederate Flag flying over the capitol (at least not publically) and wouldn't make Gerogia a laughingstock by praying for rain on the capitol steps. Plus, RedState says he must be defeated. So there must be something good about him.<br /><br />But even better, on the Democratic side we have former governor Roy Barnes back in the race. Arguably the best governor Georgia has had in ... well, ever. He's no Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinich, but after all this is the Deep South. Roy is strong on education, pretty strong on women's issues, strong on public transport and fair on healthcare. His platform is jobs jobs jobs (plus education reform) done right. He's smart, capable, and doesn't back down. <br /><br />It's going to be a close race, both men are popular and go straight to the issues. If Oxendine stays clear of the 'social' issues, we could have here what America has been missing: an actual race decided by policy positions. I'm pulling as hard as I can for Barnes, but either way Georgia wins.<br /><br />(cross posted at <a href="http://noteschaton.blogspot.com/">not Eschaton</a>)Dirk Gentlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05210065444706441795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-24553795015289832402010-05-31T09:40:00.000-07:002010-05-31T09:41:11.224-07:00Grain Of TruthFor every winner, there is a loser. But not necessarily the other way round.Dirk Gentlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05210065444706441795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-5844818102401995142010-05-30T11:33:00.000-07:002010-05-30T11:34:01.313-07:00Memorial Day on the VW BusNot having much to say on this day, we refer you to Ms F and Bluesman.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lifeonthevwbus.blogspot.com/2010/05/memorial-day.html">Life On The Bus: Memorial Day</a>Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-35206596920969800942010-04-30T01:12:00.000-07:002010-05-02T07:26:35.161-07:00Updates to FortyTooAlmost there. Version 3.2 is finished, including admin capabilities. With that, FortyToo is complete and ready to roll out.<br />
<br />
So what's next? Building a marketing site, self-registration, and the revenue model. Oh, and some self-installing widgets for Blogger and Wordpress. For now, I can set anyone up pretty quickly that wants it but once it gets rolling I won't want to do each site by hand.<br />
<br />
One of the cool new capabilities is picking a skin for the program - I'm still using the default skin here, but you can check out the others with these links:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fortytoocomments.com/comments/comments.php?site=fortytoo&page=http://stevieguide.blogspot.com/2010/04/updates-to-fortytoo.html&skin=green_3">JP - Forest Green</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://fortytoocomments.com/comments/comments.php?site=fortytoo&page=http://stevieguide.blogspot.com/2010/04/updates-to-fortytoo.html&skin=orange_3">Satan - Orange</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://fortytoocomments.com/comments/comments.php?site=fortytoo&page=http://stevieguide.blogspot.com/2010/04/updates-to-fortytoo.html&skin=simple_3">Simplicity -</a> no side toolbar!<br />
<br />
The structural changes I've been making to the program make it very easy to create new skins - so if someone wants a custom layout they can have one - for a small fee. And I'll be adding more stock skins. Each site gets to pick one skin, but can change it at any time. Of course, I built a back door into the demo site so I can show any one of them by using different links.<br />
<br />
I'll also be adding a demo Admin account so you can check out how easy it is - for now, only registered users can see the admin pages ('coz I don't want you messing with my settings).<br />
<br />
If you are already using FortyToo as your Blogger or WordPress comment system (or really, anywhere else) it's easy to update: edit your template and replace <b>bensonmum.com</b> with <b>fortytoocomments.com</b> - or just wait a couple of days, I'll be updating the scripts to point to the new site. Be aware that when you do switch over, all saved preferences, nuke lists, nyms, emails, etc. will be lost. It's a Flash security thing, I can't help it. But they aren't hard to reset.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-31511589904987949712010-04-05T20:52:00.001-07:002010-04-09T10:38:31.290-07:00Come on Jon... You Know WhyJon Stewart expressed - in his unique style - anger and dismay at the insurance industry tonight. It seems that although the new Health Insurance Reform bill prohibits refusing coverage to children, inscos have already found a loophole. <br />
<br />
Jon was shocked. Shocked! Not that there was a loophole, but that the inscos went looking for it. Are they just pure evil? Do they want to be sure to catch the Haydes Express?<br />
<br />
No, Jon. It's far simpler than that. And less sinister.<br />
<br />
What they are is businessmen. And corporations. And shareholders. They do not exist to help poor sick children. They exist to make money. That is the nature of the free market and for-profit service industry. <br />
<br />
Which is of course the whole problem. <br />
<br />
Three undeniable truths about the free market: You get what you pay for, <br />
not everyone can afford everything, and profits come from charging more than cost.<br />
<br />
As long as we have for-profit health insurance, we don't have univeral health care. By definition.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-65164008457718442322010-04-03T15:57:00.000-07:002010-04-03T15:57:29.276-07:00Three Days in SpringMy regular readers (both of you) are aware that I am not particularly religious, in much the same way that Jupiter is not a particularly hospitable planet. This is not because I'm not familiar with the scripture - if anything, because I am. Which is why I can appreciate the cunning of setting the resurrection myth at the beginning of Spring. As though life from death were a good thing. Or rather, that our ability to perceive this great joke were. Intelligent Design indeed.<br />
<br />
I've spent two days in the garden now, and tomorrow will be the third. Killing weeds. Tearing up unwanted wild raspberries. Hacking the limbs off perfectly healthy but overgrown bushes. The great destroyer, armed with clippers and rakes and hedgers and a chain saw. All to make room for new life. And if some of the bushes don't survive the onslaught no worries - they can be replaced with fresh ones. They won't be missed.<br />
<br />
Or will they? There's the rub.<br />
<br />
New life is a wonderful thing, no doubt. But it can never replace the old lives extinguished, the old loves lost, the flowers that never bloom again. And we alone perhaps in the universe get to understand that in time these too will fade, and new weeds will always return. The circle of life is necessarily a circle of death.<br />
<br />
Which is why the resurrection myth is so appealing. This one time, and one time only, the same life comes back. The concept is wonderful to imagine.<br />
<br />
I just would have chosen someone else to be that one.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-10877593767870731502010-04-01T22:08:00.000-07:002010-04-01T22:08:15.930-07:00Donnie DarkoAs I watched Donnie Darko on DVR tonight, it occured to me that someone wrote that movie. Someone thought of it, wrote it, and turned it into a movie. <br />
<br />
And it made me realize again how little I want to go back to sitting in an office creating software to make someone else rich helping other rich people sell things.<br />
<br />
Creating art is more than a desire. It is a physical necessity. Air and water. Life. And for as long as I am compelled to hang on to this rock, however tenuously, I am determined to live. Because survival just doesn't seem that important to me.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-61759623215898619522010-03-31T13:08:00.000-07:002010-03-31T13:08:48.390-07:00AsstoundingI had a lot of fun going through the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pargon/sets/72157623594187379/">Teabonics</a> flikr group (h/t Bo). The misspelled signs are often ironic ("English is our lanaguage, learn it!") and sometimes just amusing. I know, I know. Cheap shots. I'm not such a great speller myself, and there is no spell check on a piece of posterboard.<br />
<br />
But before I start feeling guilty about making fun of the educationally challenged, allow me to share this one:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2733/4468906733_1f57b37f60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="475" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2733/4468906733_1f57b37f60.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
It's not just a problem with the language. It's a problem with the whole concept of America.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-43021109598607873072010-03-14T23:57:00.000-07:002010-03-14T23:57:30.028-07:00DepressionOnce I wrote a program<br />
made it run<br />
billed the client for time.<br />
Once I built a network<br />
now it's done.<br />
Brother can you <br />
spare a dime?Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-7816059667275467922010-03-07T07:47:00.000-08:002010-03-07T07:47:44.689-08:00SNL - A swing and a missPolitical humor works best when it hits issues people care about. SNL stepped up to the plate last night with an opening bit with Obama, flanked by Pelosi and Reid, promising to pass the Health bill despite it being "terribly unpopular." <br />
<br />
The wind-up, the pitch; and it's a slow sinking curve. Pelosi, Obama tells us, is safe at home in San Fran, but Reid could be out thanks to the very, very unpopular bill. Steeeeee-rike! <br />
<br />
No one cares whether Harry comes or goes. He's a non-issue compared to the one standing there with a bat: why is the Health Insurance Reform bill, the Democrat's comprehensive legislation on the issue that swept them into the White House and solid majorities in the House and Senate, so deeply, deeply unpopular? it's funny when you think about it.<br />
<br />
You can blame the Republican parlimentary procedures, or the Fox news misinformation campaign, or the ranting fringe teabaggers or the effect of insurance lobby money. As though it were a great bill that people would get behind if they only understood what it was about.<br />
<br />
That's the pitch they should have swung at. Maybe they would have even hit upon the real reason: voters don't <em>want</em> everyone to have access to health insurance.<br />
<br />
We want everyone to have access to health <em>care</em>. Health <em>insurance </em> is the thing preventing that.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-18213378063708312012010-03-05T05:13:00.001-08:002010-03-05T05:24:24.249-08:00Not CarefulEveryone from Sean Hannity to Jon Stewart was talking about Obama's big presser yesterday. They all got it wrong. They all said it was about Health Care Reform; except for Obama himself of course - he was very careful to call it what it is: Health <i>Insurance</i> Reform.<p>And therein lies the problem. Or rather, the wrong problem. So please be careful.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-25995086367145970202010-03-01T08:16:00.001-08:002010-03-01T08:16:59.984-08:00When two companies love each other very muchAmerica: the nation where corporations can marry, but gay citizens cannot.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-51978031944197880042010-02-24T07:25:00.000-08:002010-02-24T07:25:33.321-08:00Open HouseHey everyone - thanks for attending <a href="http://jprestonian.blogspot.com/2010/02/open-house-thread.html">FortyToo's Open House</a> - and thanks JP, Curly and Larry Elvis for hosting it. Coming out parties are always so exciting!<br />
<br />
I've got to work today, so I can't give detailed answers to every question, suggestion or complaint. I don't really even have time to bask in the praise! But I'll address a couple of things quickly, and add the rest as FortyToo comments here tomorrow.<br />
<br />
First, the "crash:" this is, as someone pointed out, the reason we have Beta versions. There was not a server problem. There was not a volume problem. As with all systems, there is an upper limit, but 288 comments isn't it. I've tested over 900, which with the Alpha version started showing some slowdown, mostly due to the Gravatar connection - Beta doesn't slow down there, but it can take a while for all the "hides" to work through. In either case, once the initial thread is loaded, it speeds right back up. And the text version is totally immune to volume, unless you use "0" as your page size. Which is one reason why it is paged.<br />
<br />
No, the problem was isolated to one post and simply stopped everything after that from displaying. I know what the problem with the post was and fixed it, but still have to work out how it got in there in the first place.<br />
<br />
There were some very good suggestions I'll be implementing, some that we've already discussed and planned, and some that sound good but would actually be very annoying.<br />
<br />
For example, the reason that refresh doesn't take you to the next new post (it only moves the scroll bar and shows how many comments that try retrieved) is that it can happen automatically. If you were in the middle of reading a previous comment and suddenly the window scrolled to the bottom, you would be mightily and rightly well pissed. However, I might be able to have it jump there only if manually refreshed.<br />
<br />
And it isn't really "refresh" - that's the difference. I shouldn't label it that way. It's really "Get New."<br />
<br />
There are plans to give more control to the auto-rate, but it's a performance thing. It's really not there for active conversation (click the NOW counter button whenever you want) but for when comments are trickling in and you just want to see them come while you're working on another window. If every lurker on every blog that was using FortyToo hit the server every five seconds (even when no new comments were available) it would eventually slow things down.<br />
<br />
So what I'm planning is a "smart" timer, that adjusts itself to how fast comments are arriving. That will be a while coming.<br />
<br />
What else? Let's see ... Preview is indeed broken. I must have done something on the last update that upset it. And when you go to Text mode there are no scrollbars - that's a side-effect of opening the initial Flash window with no bars, they can't be turned on once the window is open. But I do have a way around it, I'll implement it tomorrow. Copy/Paste will come eventually, but it's kind of a big deal with the Flash Text/Graphics Engine. Some of you may remember that when PDF first came out, you couldn't copy/paste with Acrobat Reader either. It's a similar issue. The question is, will I get around to doing the complex code involved before Adobe updates the platform to make it easier? Probably. I'm faster than they are.<br />
<br />
Thanks again everyone, hope you enjoyed your night out from the Trolls and we'll all talk again soon.<br />
<br />
--dirk gently, sociopatheticStephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-76557524936484256042010-02-20T20:27:00.000-08:002010-02-20T20:27:02.965-08:00FortyToo, Also - vers 2.0 BETAThings are trucking right along with FortyToo - the only commenting system to use Bensonmum Troll-b-gone technology. Version 2.0 is up, it looks a bit cleaner, it's easier to work with and it has the NUCLEAR OPTION.<br />
<br />
Check it out by commenting here, or over at <a href="http://jprestonian.blogspot.com/">JP's site</a>. Or check out the newest feature description at <a href="http://bensonmum.com/comments">http://bensonmum.com/comments</a>.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-9307573015941843742010-02-07T11:27:00.000-08:002010-02-07T11:27:02.991-08:00Forty, Too!Well, I've done it. I've switched over to the Best Comment System In The World, AKA Forty Too. OK, it's not even in Beta yet and can only be accessed with Flash so far, but that will be changing very soon. No one really comments here anyway, I just wanted to make it work with Blogger. So, yeah, I've got to do an auto-install widget someday. But for now, it's only a three line change in the template and if anyone wants to use it you can email me your Blogger template and I'll switch it for you. Or just tell you the lines. Of course, this implies you know my email address and I know you. It's not for the unwashed masses yet.<br />
<br />
When I finish the non-flash version I'll set up some Terms Of Service and start assigning site names (you'll need me to get Admin capabilities anyway) but for now knock yourselves out. I'm also working on a comment importer - I'll at least do one for Blogger, maybe for JSKit. We'll see.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8891687652646300283.post-47194265767948232952009-12-02T07:38:00.000-08:002010-02-07T12:09:44.496-08:00Stevie's Guide to Fixing Everything1. Fixing Healthcare: Provide government run single payer care to everyone. Wrap up Medicare, Medicaid, VA, every other current program into it. Pay for the rest with graduated taxes based on real income/worth, not just payroll - the people who have the most get the most benefit from living in this society, let them kick in more.<br />
<br />
2. Fixing the economy: Do #1. Then build some shit.<br />
<br />
3. Fixing Afghanistan: We can't. Never gonna happen. Grow the fuck up and get out of there.Stephen Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17457481222520711219noreply@blogger.com2