Mr. GOH! Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) Something is deeply wrong with Iowa when it gives the most votes to Rick Santorum, who has got to be the most alienating, unelectable candidate in the entire Republican roundup. Four years ago Iowa gave the most votes to a man who hates his own country and his own people. I'm fairly certain Huckabee likes white rich guys. I dunno about whether he loves America as it is, or if he just loves his fantasy of an American theocracy. Edited January 6, 2012 by Mr. GOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 http://www.extremetech.com/computing/112579-boycott-sopa-an-android-app-that-terrifies-publishers-and-politicians SOPA android app, let's you see what products are made by supporting companies or not. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 That is a terrifying and awesome tool for public involvement. I hope more apps like that become available (or even better a general-purpose app like that, like they talk about in the last paragraph). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100128559/republicans-turn-their-back-on-the-enlightenment/ So this was on twitter earlier, maybe of interest to some. Especially the 180 of Gingrich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) That is a terrifying and awesome tool for public involvement. I hope more apps like that become available (or even better a general-purpose app like that, like they talk about in the last paragraph). The most effective use of these apps will be by the far right, you know. To boycott businesses that sell menorahs or wish people happy holidays or who employ Muslims or who are environmentally friendly or who support gay marriage. Edit: Fun article, Dean, though the idea that the GOP has turned its back on empirical sciences is nothing new. Even the free marketeer Austrian Economics the GOP bases its social science upon reject empiricism in preference for reasoning from first principles (which never get examined vis a vis reality because empiricism is so rough and tumble). The Bible thing is even more infuriating because the main point isn't that the Old Testament is an accurate recounting of natural history, but that we should all be nice to each other. Edited January 11, 2012 by Mr. GOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 http://blogs.telegra...-enlightenment/ So this was on twitter earlier, maybe of interest to some. Especially the 180 of Gingrich. This is part of the reason why I don't like politics. If you want to have any hope of being elected by your party, you have to subvert your personal beliefs to the majority's popular opinion. Jon Huntsman can say whatever he wants because he has never had a chance in this race. Those who are neck-and-neck, they've got to monitor themselves so as not to say anything detrimental to the voters. This is also why you'll hear "flip-flopper" flung around during political campaigns. Everyone running does it, but some candidates are more noticeable because it can seem like they've flipped a metaphorical "politics" switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 It swings both ways, I've seen work on an LGBT version of the SOPA app for those companies that invest in anti-gay right campaigns, or discriminatory towards LGBT workers. Technology and its application is an extremely powerful political tool, as Obama showed in 2008 and arab spring showed last year. btw if anyone is interested Reddit is going dark on 18th to protest SOPA, other sites are likely to follow suit (other sites being Google, Facebook, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) http://blogs.telegra...-enlightenment/ So this was on twitter earlier, maybe of interest to some. Especially the 180 of Gingrich. This is part of the reason why I don't like politics. If you want to have any hope of being elected by your party, you have to subvert your personal beliefs to the majority's popular opinion. Jon Huntsman can say whatever he wants because he has never had a chance in this race. Those who are neck-and-neck, they've got to monitor themselves so as not to say anything detrimental to the voters. This is also why you'll hear "flip-flopper" flung around during political campaigns. Everyone running does it, but some candidates are more noticeable because it can seem like they've flipped a metaphorical "politics" switch. The real problem isn't that politicians pander to or perhaps even represent the beliefs of their party, it's that such ridiculous beliefs are the core of one of the major parties of one of the most powerful nations in history. Edit: Ooh, that's a very cool app, Dean. I'm just saying a year from now the most effective use will be by the far right. I hope I'm wrong. Edited January 11, 2012 by Mr. GOH! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 We still take the piss out the fact our current PM suggested we "hug a hoodie". If he suggested evolution didn't exist, apart from having to take it up with the national mint, he'd be fucking laughed out of parliament, as in the force of the laughter would propel him out the window and into the Thames. (with all the other eels) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 True, but I feel like it wouldn't be that big of a problem if (the majority of) the public could accept that sometimes the best candidate for President of the United States of America isn't going to be perfectly parallel to their beliefs. It's like voters want to have a personal avatar based on beliefs to be president whereas a president is someone who should be one with the capabilities and motivation to handle the responsibility of presidency over a country such as the United States. Sometimes it's like people want to vote for a Prom King (or Queen) instead of an actual leader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 It would be a problem, not because the leader doesn't believe what I believe, but because, the leader is willing to disregard every single credible scientist of this generation and the mountain of mutually supporting evidence that something does in fact exist and will instead base his decision on what has been written in a book over 2000 years ago that has no supporting evidence and instead says that we should just believe it unquestionably. If you take that attitude and apply it to whether or not we should go to war with a country or if we need to take steps to stop global warming then it is quite worrying that a leader will ignore stacks of evidence and instead will instead go with what some person tells him for no reason other than that he knows the guy quite well and trusts him unquestioningly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 It would be a problem, not because the leader doesn't believe what I believe, but because, the leader is willing to disregard every single credible scientist of this generation and the mountain of mutually supporting evidence that something does in fact exist and will instead base his decision on what has been written in a book over 2000 years ago that has no supporting evidence and instead says that we should just believe it unquestionably. If you take that attitude and apply it to whether or not we should go to war with a country or if we need to take steps to stop global warming then it is quite worrying that a leader will ignore stacks of evidence and instead will instead go with what some person tells him for no reason other than that he knows the guy quite well and trusts him unquestioningly. Absolutely. It is just more frightening to me that perhaps a majority of the electorate would support such madness. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorgi Duke of Frisbee Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Mike Rowe on the growing lack of proper labor jobs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Mike Rowe is right. But the problem isn't just perception and valuing laborers as people, it's that a lot of the skilled jobs are nonetheless low-paying or not secure because they represent temporary projects and labor needs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I think high schools need to get back into having more vocational type classes. I don't know how it is other places, but around here high school is almost entirely focused on college prep, and there's very little there for people who aren't going to go to college, which I think contributes to our high drop-out rates (from the time we were freshmen to the time we graduated about 1/3 of our class dropped out). They need more classes that teach real world skills for people who aren't going to college. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battra92 Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I think high schools need to get back into having more vocational type classes. I don't know how it is other places, but around here high school is almost entirely focused on college prep, and there's very little there for people who aren't going to go to college, which I think contributes to our high drop-out rates (from the time we were freshmen to the time we graduated about 1/3 of our class dropped out). They need more classes that teach real world skills for people who aren't going to college. HEAR HEAR! Perhaps the most unintentionally destructive things we do to teenagers are telling them that they must go to college and telling them that if they don't go to college they will amount to nothing. We also lie to college kids telling them that whatever major they take up, they are guaranteed a job. I know plenty of English, Womens Studies, Philosophy etc majors who work in call centers, grocery stores and other lower paying jobs and lament the fact that they went to college and "they should be making more money." On the flip side i know people who went into so-called stable fields like accounting and absolutely hate, loathe and despise their jobs. I also know plumbers, auto mechanics, carpenters, electricians etc. who make much more than I do. I also know others who are perpetually without enough work to make ends meet (this is especially true in the last few years with house construction way down.) I went to a vocational school and while it wasn't perfect, I believe it served me well. Unfortunately the current administration has been dropping trades, eliminating the dress code and, sadly, turning it into another crappy public school. Why? Because the state said kids coming out of the school weren't prepared enough for college. >_< 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 No doubt. I value a college education, but it ain't for everyone. I went to a high school with excellent vocational training and it took me going to college *and* law school to earn a higher salary than some of them do. But they also get 40 weeks plus overtime. Strong vocational training programs are important in high schools, and should be emphasized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I remember having to do two different senior projects during my high school education. I did two because I moved and began a separate project my senior year at another high school. In retrospect, I still don't see what difference it was going to make besides keeping us frantically busying during our senior year. The high school I graduated from, well, only a handful of us were definitely going to college. I do blame part of their destiny in their hands as some of the kids were straight up jackasses with no sense of self-improvement besides getting drunk on the weekends. The others could have actually used more, you know, "education" besides, "Well, when you're going to college, you'll need..." I've been in college for nearly five years. From where I'm standing, it seems all you need to do in college is pay tuition and attend classes to be "successful." That is, if you've got a potential career that's going somewhere. It's kinda funny, but even professors realize how difficult it is for students to land a job in their chosen field once they're handed a diploma. I think my brother-in-law had to apply 59-ish times for a job before at least two employers would take a look at him. He has an amazing job at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 So a Freedom of Information request was used on Homeland Security. http://epic.org/foia/epic-v-dhs-media-monitoring/ Surprise surprise, DHS are monitoring social media. in SOPA news: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/14/obama-administration-responds-we-people-petitions-sopa-and-online-piracy Whitehouse is not liking SOPA. In other SOPA news: we'll be up on the 18th (barring technical issues) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Apparently the head of whatever committee SOPA's in right now killed the DNS blocking provision, so that's good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20120115/republican-language-questions-120115/ Is this for real? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Sadly, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalCaveman Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 D. Randall Blythe, vocalist for metal band Lamb of God is running for president. http://www.metalinsi...-u-s-presidency http://www.metalinsi...ial-campaign-ad http://randonesia.tu...-the-big-cheese 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Gingrich must still be a staunch supporter of "Freedom Fries" if knowing French, or any other foreign language, is such a demeaning attribute. "But it's funny... people love it!" People tend to love to laugh at poor political ads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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