tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post3778840357180445183..comments2024-03-29T06:22:47.638-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Many Cultural & Scientific WondersDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-72590541365212273312010-05-23T23:06:27.284-07:002010-05-23T23:06:27.284-07:00There's an interesting theory about Neandertha...There's an interesting theory about Neanderthals and autism here:<br /><br />http://www.rdos.net/eng/asperger.htm<br /><br />In a nutshell, the neanderthals' normal mental state was Aspergers. Because we have acquired neanderthal DNA, modern humans occasionally are born with enough of the right neanderthal genes to function mentally more like a neanderthal than homo sapiens.<br /><br />It's a fascinating theory and fun to read, but I'm don't think there's much concrete evidence to back it up. (It kind of reminds me of TOOCITBOTBM by Julian Jaynes.)tvindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09944046580562714104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-75574616639628842142010-05-23T06:24:50.708-07:002010-05-23T06:24:50.708-07:00Yeah, well, get rid of Fury and SHIELD and you'...Yeah, well, get rid of Fury and SHIELD and you'll pull the Avengers backbone right out of Marvel's movie franchise-building strategy. They're not about to do <i>that</i>.Bytownernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-24943963045271049472010-05-23T02:53:32.001-07:002010-05-23T02:53:32.001-07:00Iron Man 2 would have been a lot better if they...Iron Man 2 would have been a lot better if they'd eliminated the SHIELD story line and cut 20-30 minutes off the movie.Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01739671401151990700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61997450383852019292010-05-22T19:33:26.429-07:002010-05-22T19:33:26.429-07:00Humans are exuberant and impatient. No internatio...Humans are exuberant and impatient. No international consultations discussed how best to make contact. Until our wisest thinkers have discussed this with Earth's citizens, rash "messages" like this should be considered informal bursts, from individuals, that don't speak for humanity.David McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16603857353437134459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-41534827664128838892010-05-22T16:49:44.801-07:002010-05-22T16:49:44.801-07:00David, your METI message is 51 words long, and the...David, your METI message is 51 words long, and the limit was 40. Sorry. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11828485858287268882010-05-21T23:49:47.258-07:002010-05-21T23:49:47.258-07:00They showed Tony S to be narcissistic and foolish ...They showed Tony S to be narcissistic and foolish for doing that. In fact, it is a plot necessity. I don't mind a superhero movie twisting a bit in order to keep its demigod unique. At least this demigod stands up for science & technology! Like Spiderman stands up for the common man... and lets the common man stand up for him.<br /><br />What I hated about I2 was all the ridiculous cameo BS with "Nick Fury of Shield!" W'the? A complete boring nonsequitur saved only by watching Scarlett Johansson strut and shimmy and pretend to be deadly. "I want one," indeed.<br /><br />Altogether, it near totally lacked the charm of the first.<br /><br />Just saw Terry Gilliam's "Imaginarium" thing. Oh, what awful dreck! Gilliam does his romantic/preachy twaddle against reality in all its forms. The film's moral basis is below gutter level and the plot logic makes LOST seem like a meticulously charted Michener novel, by comparison. A tedious yawner. At least BARON MUNCHAUSEN had real charm... between the boring rants against a modernity that gave Terry Gilliam everything.<br /><br />I keep hoping that, as they trust Gilliam with ever decreasing budgets, he will reach a point where he returns to his roots. <br /><br />I despise ingratitude. But romantics cannot help it. What is unforgivable is when they get predictable and plain dull.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-82313071983070060202010-05-21T23:47:10.429-07:002010-05-21T23:47:10.429-07:00Oh, and this article says something interesting th...Oh, and this article says something interesting that relates to Dr. Brin's "Rise of 10,000 McVeighs"<br /><br /><a href="http://trueslant.com/allisonkilkenny/2010/05/19/white-domestic-terrorists-slip-off-medias-radar/" rel="nofollow">White Domestic Terrorists Slip Off Media's Radar</a>sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-18237658794915109122010-05-21T23:17:55.104-07:002010-05-21T23:17:55.104-07:00So, any thoughts on the "Iron Man" movie...So, any thoughts on the "Iron Man" movie? I watched it, and the only part I really didn't like was Tony Stark's stance that only he should get to wear the Iron Man armor.sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46620917784127863452010-05-21T11:03:55.067-07:002010-05-21T11:03:55.067-07:00And for another link, an article looking at the &q...And for another link, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2010/05/24/100524crat_atlarge_gopnik" rel="nofollow">an article looking at the "historical" Jesus, and on interpretations of the history</a>, literature on it, and the like. I think Dr. Brin will particularly enjoy this as he has commonly stated that if Jesus were alive today, he'd be everything that neocons and the Religious Right decry in Democrats. ;)<br /><br />Though I have to warn you, it's five pages long. So you've some reading ahead of you. ^^;;<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-42260260937289961312010-05-21T09:29:52.533-07:002010-05-21T09:29:52.533-07:00I feel almost embarrassed bringing up an article a...I feel almost embarrassed bringing up an article about a certain science fiction movie after those two superb links... but <a href="http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2010/05/empire-strikes-30-ars-looks-back-at-an-amazing-film.ars" rel="nofollow">The Empire Strikes Back is now 30 years old</a>, and Ars Technica takes a look at what it calls "one of the best science fiction movies ever made." Among points made to explain why it's such a good movie include the fact that "Empire Strikes Back may have had the least input from George Lucas, and the all-too-human characters and dialog is proof that this was a good move. The film was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on story notes from Lucas."<br /><br />Among other notes that made Empire the best of the Star Wars movies, "Echo Base looked like an actual military base, and the AT-AT assault on the installation as the rebels bravely try to buy their friends time to escape by counter-attacking with outgunned Snowspeeders was amazing." They also launched proton torpedoes at the digitalized Yoda of future films, stating "It's not worth dragging the new trilogy out to beat it up again, but pay attention to Yoda in this film and contrast him with the soulless creation of the later films. Brought to life in both physical performance and voice by Frank Oz, Yoda in Empire Strikes Back was emotional, sly, and as the movie progressed, we began to see the hidden wisdom."<br /><br />I also fully agree with them on this point about the Force: "In the prequel trilogy, we learn that the Force is just parasites in our blood. In Empire it's something magical, something that lives inside all of us. We are told that we can do amazing things by mastering our feelings and believing in something greater than ourselves. We are, as Yoda puts it, luminous beings, not just flesh and blood."<br /><br />The article is summed up with this conclusion: "Empire Strikes Back is a science fiction movie with a soul and a beating heart. The characters are put in peril, they say interesting things to each other, and they learn about themselves and the world around them. Why is this such a great movie when the rest of the series is so flawed? It's endlessly arguable, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it's a film that stands the test of time, and remains a grand adventure. Happy 30th birthday, Empire." <br /><br />(This also reminds me of a "Take That!" that a defunct mad science webcomic (I think it was <i>Radioactive Panda</i>) volleyed with an excuse given to the story mad scientists looking into alternative reality travel because their George Lucas died before the prequel series was made, and that Stephen Spielberg went on to create six additional award-winning movies based on his friend's works... but that the scientists wanted to see what Lucas's vision would have been, with the assumption it would have been even better.)<br /><br />There is also a link to an article <a href="http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com/savingstarwars.html" rel="nofollow">on the "secret history" of restoring the Star Wars movie</a> which may be of interest to readers.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-68680833121910839322010-05-21T07:09:04.391-07:002010-05-21T07:09:04.391-07:00'listen Congress, listen policymakers, we'...<i> 'listen Congress, listen policymakers, we're the ones who know what's going on. So just back off. There's no way you can understand unless you have a degree in advanced math or advanced physics.'</i><br /><br />Julius Sumner Miller, a professor of advanced physics and curmudgeonly science populariser of the 70's, often commented that you can't claim to understand something unless you can explain it to someone else.<br /><br /><i>I've been saying for years now that, as counter-intuitive as it may sound, the meme of the tough-on-terrorism conservatives and the scared-wimpy liberals is exactly backwards.</i><br /><br />Within hours of the London bombings in 2005, the website '<a href="http://www.werenotafraid.com/" rel="nofollow">We are Not Afraid</a>' was set up... and went viral.<br /><br />Getting back to the original theme of cultural & scientific wonders (I suppose Mormon cookbooks would qualify ;-)...<br /><br />Speaking of 'Earth' earlier: using acoustic measurements and diamond anvils generating 120G<br />Pa pressures, a new layer has been identified in the Earth's structure. Occupying a 300km region between the lower mantle and the outer core, this layer appears to be made up a new phase of perovskite (dubbed post-perovskite) Its properties help explain transfer of heat to the outer layers which, in turn, explains how continents have developed, and why Earth has such a strong magnetic field.<br /><br />The phase has electrical conductivity that is 'orders of magnitude' greater than normal perovskite. Being several thousand kilometres down, I suppose it qualifies as 'unobtainium'.<br /><br />(All we need are indications of a dendritic structure...! Actually, No cosmic hairballs are implicated, although the layer appears to have a couple of 'continents' of its own!).)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-earths-missing-ingredient" rel="nofollow">Link</a><br /><br />The same edition of SciAm has a report on 12 events that could change everything. One of these (artificial life) looks like it's the first one off the starting block, courtesy of Dr Venter & co.<br /><br />New Scientist has a special report on what constitutes denial <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627606.100-living-in-denial-why-sensible-people-reject-the-truth.html" rel="nofollow">Link</a>Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39100346430333597902010-05-20T19:46:30.733-07:002010-05-20T19:46:30.733-07:00If the good Doctor will permit me a prolonged quot...If the good Doctor will permit me a prolonged quotation from another author...<br /><br /><i>"A nation," [Milgram] heard himself say, "consists of its laws. A nation does not consist of a situation at a given time. If an individual's morals are situational, that individual is without morals. If a nation's laws are situational, that nation has no laws, and soon isn't a nation."...<br /><br />"What did you say?"<br /><br />"Are you really so scared of terrorists that you'll dismantle the structures that made America what it is?" Milgrim heard himself ask this with a sense of deep wonder. ...<br /><br />"If you are, you let the terrorists win. Because that is exactly, specifically his goal, his only goal: to frighten you into surrendering the rule of law. That's why they call him 'terrorist.' He uses terrifying threats to induce you to degrade your own society."<br /><br />Brown opened his mouth. Closed it.<br /><br />"It's based on the same glitch in human psychology that allows people to believe they can win the lottery. Statistically, almost nobody ever wins the lottery. Statistically, terrorist attacks almost never happen."</i><br /><br />- from William Gibson's <i>Spook Country</i>Jonathan S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51227134942427745802010-05-20T15:22:20.895-07:002010-05-20T15:22:20.895-07:00David, I think it's because it doesn't fit...David, I think it's because it doesn't fit the polemic, *and* the blues don't think it noble to pitch in in an emergency. It's just what you do. <br /><br /><em>Get some mormon cookbooks for tasty ways to eat year-old survival crackers....</em><br /><br />Forget the crackers: just store staple grains; they'll keep in cans for 15-30 years. Rotating through that stuff means you're making homemade bread every week, which is always more delicious than the stuff from the store. <br /><br />The Mormon cookbooks are at seagullbook.com or deseretbook.com, or probably any decently formed google search.Rob Perkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618647194288598056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90644892872427827742010-05-20T14:10:57.695-07:002010-05-20T14:10:57.695-07:00D_J I wish one could ascribe most tea parties to e...D_J I wish one could ascribe most tea parties to either rabid libertarianism or disgust with government. It is mostly far simpler. Since the GOP is not thoroughly discredited as having committed treason-level depredations on the American nation, desperately and reflexively loyal reactionary-minded people will do anything to avoid concluding that <br /><br />1) they were wrong earlier<br />2) the opposition to the GOP might actually be better.<br /><br />Since they have to admit the neocons were horrors, this means they must do a two step, fostered by Fox/Beck etc:<br /><br />a) the neocons were an aberration, a fall from natural conservative grace; if we make a big show of slapping their wrist and getting tearful recantations, then we can go back to loving them<br /><br />b) however bad the goppers got, the lib-dems are <b>even worse,</b> even if that means making stuff up wholesale.<br /><br />All else... including anti-tax rage (taxes are near an all-time low since WWII) is rationalization and window dressing<br /><br />===<br />Phase Two of the Civil War was the Civil Rights Era.<br /><br />==<br />Heinlein was all over the place. He grumbled about making mountain retreats... while calling for everyone to fight to refine and better civilization. You had to pick & choose among his rants... as YOU folk have to pick and choose which of MINE seem sane... versus.... ;-)<br /><br />===<br />Stuart said: "Most of my college friends fled the state upon graduation, which also makes me sad. If such people stayed, the state might change within a generation."<br /><br />You nailed it. I think racism truly has waned, considerable among Red Folk. That is no longer the driver of their rage. My guess is something visceral... three generations watching the best graduates of HS and college scurry off to Blue Cities as fast as they could. That has GOT to hurt. An immense implied rebuke...<br /><br />... and you can feel the pain under the humor of Foxworthy and Engvald and Larry the Cable Guy, in which they (charmingly!) speak up for the value (and possibly preferability) of dumb-ass clods. In fact, I love those guys. But I am starting to read the subtext.<br /><br />In fact, "bluish" college cities in the south are starting to make a difference. See No.Carolina and Virginia.<br /><br />But yea, bigots are over-represented. Here is why.<br /><br />http://www.davidbrin.com/gerrymandering1.htm<br /><br />Rweinn storing food in bulk only saves money if you eventually eat it all! Get some mormon cookbooks for tasty ways to eat year-old survival crackers....<br /><br />LarryHart: we suffered a 9/11 of damage every week of WWII. Why does no one point out that the "decadent" blues have been far more brave and less panicked than reds?David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-22340913072611743322010-05-20T11:17:09.731-07:002010-05-20T11:17:09.731-07:00I recall (and likely most readers do) the time whe...<i><br />I recall (and likely most readers do) the time when we practiced "Duck And Cover" on the grounds that with maximum 30 minutes notice "We Will All Go Together When We Go". In contrast to that actual real-and-present danger, the current obsession with terrorists-with-boxcutters strikes me as rank cowardice...<br /></i><br /><br />Hey, I was hoping I wasn't the only one to notice that. I've been saying for years now that, as counter-intuitive as it may sound, the meme of the tough-on-terrorism conservatives and the scared-wimpy liberals is exactly backwards.<br /><br />The response to terrorism advocated by the Right is to be so cripplingly scared that some terrorist somewhere might succeed in doing...something...and to spend all our national blood and treasure in a futile attempt to prevent such an outcome at any cost to personal liberty is the epitome of cowardice. <i>"Please, please, please, Mr. Leader, you can do whatever you want with me, but don't let the Big Bad BinLaden get me!"</i><br /><br />What I thought we should have done immediately after 9/11 was to metaphorically dust ourselves off, bury our dead, and then resolutely go about the national business as if the bad guys were not significant enough to notice. Oh, for good measure, a special forces unit or ten should have swatted Bin Laden like a gnat, but the message would have been "You do NOT mess with us, because not only will you pay a price, but you'll also fail to accomplish anything." That would have been the brave thing to do. <br /><br />Instead, the war-mongers sent the message "Please DO mess with us, because no matter the price you pay, you'll hurt us more than we can possibly hurt you."LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51882026759598729412010-05-20T10:48:45.353-07:002010-05-20T10:48:45.353-07:00Interesting look at high finance from an anthropol...Interesting look at high finance from an anthropologist's point of view.<br /><br />From <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janine-r-wedel/emshadow-eliteem-derivati_b_583014.html?ir=Daily%20Brief" rel="nofollow"><b>Shadow Elite:Derivatives, A Horror Story</b></a><br /><br />Gillian Tett's fieldwork studying marriage rituals in a mountain village in Tajikistan helped her, years later, understand how risky derivatives proliferated, and went unnoticed, until they helped detonate the global financial system. Tett is also a social anthropologist by training. Now she's a top editor/journalist for the Financial Times, by trade, and she joins others with anthropological know-how offering crucial insights on derivatives and the "dark markets" that have been key areas of combat in the financial reform fight being waged on Capitol Hill.<br /><br />Tett is the author of Fool's Gold: How the Bold Dream of a Small Tribe at J.P. Morgan Was Corrupted by Wall Street Greed and Unleashed a Catastrophe. Last fall in Anthropology News, she made this comparison: <br /><br /><i>...bankers (like Tajik villagers) operate as a tightly defined group, with specific cultural patterns and a quasi language (or jargon) of their own. Also like Tajik villagers, bankers are generally trained to think in rigid "silos" and, as a result, find it hard to see how their overall system operates, or to see the contradictions in their own rhet oric and internal organizations.</i><br /><br />From the outside and with hindsight, the contradictions now seem glaring. Inside this closed culture, the ideals of the free market are repeatedly espoused, but not upheld. Derivatives, the exotic financial contraptions that vastly enrich the banking business, have flourished in the shadows, not in the open marketplace.<br /><br />As I discuss in Shadow Elite, bankers capitalized on this aura of unmatched complexity, ever-changing technologies, and unstoppable financial "innovation", all during an era when deregulation had become the norm. They used jargon, as Tett points out, and also a stranglehold on information as weapons to obscure, making effective oversight very difficult. She elaborated in the FT on the warring Wall Street "tribes" within a single firm, and how the derivatives tribe came to dominate.<br /><br /><i>Groups such as Citi or Merrill appear to have developed a more hierarchical pattern, in which the different business lines have existed like warring tribes, answerable only to the chief. Moreover, the most profitable tribe has invariably wielded the most power - and thus was untouchable and inscrutable to everyone else. Hence the fact that, in this tribal culture, nobody reined in the excesses....</i><br /><br />No one reined them in within the firm, the ratings agencies, or Washington. Anthropologist of finance Bill Maurer explained to me the 'complexity' narrative. <br /><br /><i>[It is one] that empowers the [bankers and their lobbyists] who can say, 'listen Congress, listen policymakers, we're the ones who know what's going on. So just back off. There's no way you can understand unless you have a degree in advanced math or advanced physics.' </i><br /><br />Damning evidence of this kind of hubris can be seen in a statement to Congress in 1998 - when the derivatives timebomb might have been defused - from then-deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. He clearly internalized the idea that the Wall Street pros knew best.<br /><br /><i>....the parties to these kinds of contract are largely sophisticated financial institutions that would appear to be eminently capable of protecting themselves from fraud and counterparty insolvencies.</i>JuhnDonnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06795417373366495092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-67017773819641464292010-05-20T09:54:58.755-07:002010-05-20T09:54:58.755-07:00As for doom-preparedness, IMO we should all work o...As for doom-preparedness, IMO we should all work on our "resiliency" because even though Collapse Of Civilization is highly unlikely, disasters do happen and it's always nice to have x days of food-and-water-and-internet-connection when they do.<br /><br />There are side benefits: gardening is good for mental health; storing food in bulk saves you money; making a home self-sufficient in energy does both AND can help keep our little ball of Earth in shape for the next generation.<br /><br />I recall (and likely most readers do) the time when we practiced "Duck And Cover" on the grounds that with maximum 30 minutes notice <a href="http://s0.ilike.com/play#Tom+Lehrer:We+Will+All+Go+Together+When+We+Go:205356:m37424023" rel="nofollow">"We Will All Go Together When We Go"</a>. In contrast to that actual real-and-present danger, the current obsession with terrorists-with-boxcutters strikes me as rank cowardice whipped on by the Aristocracy to keep the peasantry in line. Longer run concerns, notably the carbon poisoning of our atmosphere, must be addressed but the opponents there are, largely, the same Aristocracy.<br /><br />I am greatly cheered by the massive increase in intelligence enabled by the internet; while most of it by volume may be spam, porn and funny videos, there is none-the-less plenty enough evidence of an increase in group intelligence to give me confidence that Darkness Will Not Fall.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5644614797286214962010-05-20T06:56:02.412-07:002010-05-20T06:56:02.412-07:00@David McCabe
third phase of the American Civil Wa...@David McCabe<br /><i>third phase of the American Civil War<br /><br />For those who are new here: What was the second phase?</i><br /><br />I'm going to hazard a guess before he responds.<br /><br />1. The actual Civil War. South seceded, went to war with the United States, and lost.<br /><br />2. The Civil Rights era. The South resisted treating black people equally under the law, and lost.<br /><br />3. The Culture War. A populist movement, most popular in the South and Midwest, to define politics as a struggle between conservatives (read: authoritarian traditionalists) and liberals (read: everyone else).<br /><br />I live in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama. I have a comfortable life here and have put down substantial roots, though I have always been at odds with the politics. I'm currently fretting over political ads <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJG-7s1e5eM" rel="nofollow">like this one</a>. <br /><br />Election year in Alabama always makes me a little depressed. Most of my college friends fled the state upon graduation, which also makes me sad. If such people stayed, the state might change within a generation.<br /><br />Alabama is certainly more conservative than the U.S. average, but unless there are very large numbers of stunningly ignorant people I never see, it's not conservative enough to warrant the above political ad. I suspect there is still a lot of cultural momentum from the bad old days that makes socially liberal people afraid to speak up and allows bigots to speak without fear of confrontation, so that bigots are overrepresented in the cultural consciousness.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17774230311169357530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-49977084238751926792010-05-20T05:40:56.265-07:002010-05-20T05:40:56.265-07:00"Preparations up to the normal Mormon level&q..."Preparations up to the normal Mormon level" sounds good to me. IN fact, I'm putting together my "If I get hit by a truck tomorrow" ring binder (being 71 years old, it's high time I did) from an LDS checklist. <br /><br />Way back in the late 40s, Robert Heinlein suggested we all get a cabin in the mountains away from the fallout and basically, turn survivalist. Anyone who had followed that advice would have wasted an entire person's lifetime that could have been spent enjoying life. But then, he was expecting WWIII to break out at any moment, not realizing that (to use a forest fire analogy) the tinder was all burned out and sparks were no longer being produced. That is, the whole world was utterly exhausted and wanted to get back to normal.Pat Mathewsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-45633321445502920932010-05-20T00:08:20.927-07:002010-05-20T00:08:20.927-07:00third phase of the American Civil War
For those w...<i>third phase of the American Civil War</i><br /><br />For those who are new here: What was the second phase?David McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16603857353437134459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-71070490114634945022010-05-19T21:08:25.950-07:002010-05-19T21:08:25.950-07:00There's two types of Tea Partiers...the Rand t...There's two types of Tea Partiers...the Rand types aka the true believers, who call Lincoln a tyrant and believe the Constitution to be a pure document (tell that to the slaves and women). And then there's the general population feeling disenfranchised by the political system and so they hop on board the TP train.<br /><br />Like any political movement, or any human endeavor perhaps, the logic is flawed. Obama is the quintessential candidate Tea Partiers should support...after all he's almost brand new to the national political scene. A classic outsider. But I suppose inexperience only counts among the TParty if you're a member of the Republican party.<br /><br />Another example of Brin's prescience? Whistleblowers receiving multi-million dollar payouts from the IRS: http://nyti.ms/dnorCHD_Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-52768266061461062962010-05-19T17:56:34.999-07:002010-05-19T17:56:34.999-07:00Anyone who make excuses for King George and his vi...Anyone who make excuses for King George and his vizier Darth Cheney, amid their shamelessly barefaced garbs of imperial-royal power, has no privilege to yatter at me now as a "tea party" freedom lover.<br /><br />It is exactly like 1861, when Slavocrats screeched "Tyrant!" at President Elect Lincoln before he had a chance to do a single thing and without sending a single delegation - sincerely - to learn his intentions and negotiate with the legitimate winner of a national election.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19621928876210905522010-05-19T17:45:06.425-07:002010-05-19T17:45:06.425-07:00Re: the death of Richard I:
History of that perio...Re: the death of Richard I:<br /><br />History of that period is an iffy proposition, of course, but it would appear that the bolt that felled the Lion-Heart was indeed fired by a noncombatant. The source I found said that it was a "beardless boy", seeking revenge for the death of his father. The same source claimed that Richard forgave the boy, although as soon as he died his second in the field ignored this and had the boy executed...Jonathan S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-54303941353143576892010-05-19T17:10:31.604-07:002010-05-19T17:10:31.604-07:00Hmmm, obviously the National Academy of Sciences h...Hmmm, obviously the National Academy of Sciences has been infiltrated by Al Gore-style humanity-hating communist alarmist econazis who want to everyone to live in thrall to Nancy Pelosi.<br /><br />Didn't they see where Fox News pundits put a copy of "Inconvenient Truth" out in a snow bank? That should be proof enough that global warming is a hoax!<br /><br />* * * <br /><br />Larry, you're talking about what Mencken called the booboisie. <br /><br />Don't expect consistency or logic from them. They are seekers after the Truthiness, and the momentary gloat-fix.<br /><br />yawdia: Like Boomdeyada.Stefan Joneshttp://home.comcast.net/~stefan_jones/tan_jacket_lo.jpgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77346443603097768472010-05-19T16:42:44.615-07:002010-05-19T16:42:44.615-07:00previously, I said:
They CLAIM that they want to ...previously, I said:<br /><i><br />They CLAIM that they want to limit the power of a tyranical "king" (Obama), but what they really are attempting (in that model) is to limit the power of the pariliament, and thus (however unintentionally) INCREASE the power of the king to do as he wills. In their minds, this is somehow a pro-freedom argument.<br /></i><br /><br />Just to clarify a bit more what so annoys me...<br /><br />Back during the 2008 campaign, I used to post vignettes of Mad Magazine-style parody songs about the candidates. When Obama clinched the Dem nomination, it occured to me to write a parody of something from "Jesus Christ Superstar" about his candidacy...only to realize that no changes were appropriate. The funniest thing I could do would be to post the songs verbatim and assign specific individuals to the various roles. And of course, Obama had to be "Jesus", and of course, I was taking a swipe at my own side by saying that--casting Obama as the guy who may be too wrapped up in his own personal importance and losing the bigger picture.<br /><br />And my conservative friends loved that! Obama-as-messiah was a big meme of theirs at the time.<br /><br />So how did that get turned around so fast, such that those same conservatives now see Obama cast as Caiaphas and/or Pilate and/or Judas in the same story? They look at WWII and see Obama as Hitler because (apparently) Nazi Germany had socialized medicine. They read "Atlas Shrugged" and see Obama as the leader of the moochers and looters. Now, they apparently see themselves as Robin Hood standing against Obama's Bad King John (never mind that their hero Ayn Rand absolutely HATED the image of Robin Hood and wanted to see it wiped out in her lifetime). They think Thomas fricking Paine is one of THEM, for Chrissake!<br /><br />Sorry to rant, but it's so very, very hard...LarryHartnoreply@blogger.com