2% approval among black people? 2% is how much fat I like in my milk, not how many black people like the president.
Mystery Pollster debunks this number today with his usual deftness. Apparently the 2% number is based on a sub sample of only 89 African-Americans. Which might actually be a weighted number, meaning they really interviewed less than 89 people and then gave them extra weight so that the sample was consistant with the population of the US. So we might actually be talking about 2% of 40 people. Not exactly compelling evidence that this is representative of of the opinion of the entire population of African-Americans.
His post is worth a read, especially at the end where he points out stupidity at HuffPo. (As if they have anything else there.)
Friday, October 14, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Silence
Sorry for the sporadic bloggyness.
I am having trouble feeling like posting about things because I mostly don't care. And the stuff I do care about other people are already doing a better job of posting on. So I figure I'll leave it to the experts.
If I stop posting long enough will the number of people reading this blog go negative?
Hopefully we wont find out.
I am having trouble feeling like posting about things because I mostly don't care. And the stuff I do care about other people are already doing a better job of posting on. So I figure I'll leave it to the experts.
If I stop posting long enough will the number of people reading this blog go negative?
Hopefully we wont find out.
Monday, October 10, 2005
GO!!!!
In the unlikely event that you are a reader of this blog and you have not already seen Serenity. here is the first 10 minutes (via Bill at INDC).
Now, Go f-ing see it. It is one of the best movies I've seen in ages, especially of the science fiction variety.
And if you don't go see it, and they don't make the sequels because of you, I'm going to hunt you down and use big swords on you.
Now, Go f-ing see it. It is one of the best movies I've seen in ages, especially of the science fiction variety.
And if you don't go see it, and they don't make the sequels because of you, I'm going to hunt you down and use big swords on you.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Now I get it!
I've never really understood the appeal of pundits like Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter. I don't really see the point in dissmissing out of hand the opinions of anyone who doesn't agree with you. Or saying things like "The essence of being a liberal: “The absolute conviction that there is one set of rules for you, and another, completely different set of rules for everyone else.” Really... no. But if you want to believe that, i'm not going to stop you because you must be an idiot and therefore not worth my time.
But today I finally get it, it is so nice to have sharp wit and rhetoric turned against someone you dislike:
But today I finally get it, it is so nice to have sharp wit and rhetoric turned against someone you dislike:
I eagerly await the announcement of President Bush's real nominee to the Supreme Court. If the president meant Harriet Miers seriously, I have to assume BushI expect this will be the only time Ann Coulter is quoted on this blog or that I actually utter her name. Because truly, she is evil. But I give her props for standing up and not drinking the kool-aid on this one. And she managed to not make blanket accusations against liberals too, wow. I'll bet some people are pissed.
wants to go back to Crawford and let Dick Cheney run the country.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Phoning it in
Bill at INDC is forced to put up a defense of someone else's hilarious yet apparently offensive blog post. Now who would post something that offensive? Hmmmm.
Echidne points to an absolutely ridiculous law. Aren't republicans supposed to be trying to reduce the power of our government?
Brendan Nyhan of Spinsanity fame (where my introduction to blogging began, thanks Brendan) has a link to an important story about the Bush administration's covert use of Propaganda. As if the overt propaganda wasn't enough.
And really, here is the most important news story of the day. Clearly vital to our nation's survival.
Echidne points to an absolutely ridiculous law. Aren't republicans supposed to be trying to reduce the power of our government?
Brendan Nyhan of Spinsanity fame (where my introduction to blogging began, thanks Brendan) has a link to an important story about the Bush administration's covert use of Propaganda. As if the overt propaganda wasn't enough.
And really, here is the most important news story of the day. Clearly vital to our nation's survival.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Hate
I hate it when I start to write a post and realize the point I was going to make is actually quite stupid. Lame.
Instead of my not that insightful post I will post my political test results, which change drastically every time I take the test.
Instead of my not that insightful post I will post my political test results, which change drastically every time I take the test.
| You are a Social Liberal (68% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (55% permissive) You are best described as a:
Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test |
BALETED!
Because blogger LIED to me when it said there was an error. It is evil and manipulative.
/grumbles
/grumbles
Monday, October 03, 2005
Ow
I thought the most painful part of the day was going to be the bruises I managed to aquire while falling flat on my drunk ass face in front of a bar on Saturday.
Turns out, I couldn't be more wrong.
Hurbris sums up my thoughts on this subject perfectly.
Turns out, I couldn't be more wrong.
Hurbris sums up my thoughts on this subject perfectly.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Asshole Ads
"Makes HDTV History.....Makes HDTV Herstory.... Introducing Bravia, the worlds first television for men and women"
What
The
Fuck
That is my response to this ad. In what way, is television geared towards a gender. I have never felt left out by the large flatness of the TV screen, by its lack of pink lace edging. And I don't think men have felt left out by the television's lack of manly things. It is a fucking television. The thing that gives it gender is what you watch on it, not what it is.
So in what way, is this "NEW" television different from the others in terms of gender? As far as I can tell, None. There is no explaination on their site that I could find. But this article seems to suggest that the new TV was "designed" for women, and that it is pretty or something. Well it looks like every other flat screen TV to me. But supposedly it is sleeker and looks better in a living room. Uhhhhh Okay
And I'm actually offended by these ads, I feel like they are implying that I was in some way discriminated against by my TV before this and I was just too dumb to notice. Even if I had 3k to drop on a flat screen, I wouldn't buy this one because I don't like being patronized. So take your targeted marketing scheme and shove it.
(Maybe I'm the only person who feels this way, that's cool, but it is my blog and I can pitch a fit if I want to. )
Dreamy Democrats
I have such a crush on Barack Obama, this is from his diary on dkos: (Via Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings)
The bottom line is that our job is harder than the conservatives' job. After all, it's easy to articulate a belligerent foreign policy based solely on unilateral military action, a policy that sounds tough and acts dumb; it's harder to craft a foreign policy that's tough and smart. It's easy to dismantle government safety nets; it's harder to transform those safety nets so that they work for people and can be paid for. It's easy to embrace a theological absolutism; it's harder to find the right balance between the legitimate role of faith in our lives and the demands of our civic religion. But that's our job. And I firmly believe that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, or oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. A polarized electorate that is turned off of politics, and easily dismisses both parties because of the nasty, dishonest tone of the debate, works perfectly well for those who seek to chip away at the very idea of government because, in the end, a cynical electorate is a selfish electorate.
I don't agree with his characterization of the republican's position entirely. But otherwiseI think he's right, it is harder to do things well than it is to go with the extreme option. Overall it is a good post you should read all of it. It's a well deserved smack on the head to the democrats over in wingnuttia. I hope they take it seriously.
The bottom line is that our job is harder than the conservatives' job. After all, it's easy to articulate a belligerent foreign policy based solely on unilateral military action, a policy that sounds tough and acts dumb; it's harder to craft a foreign policy that's tough and smart. It's easy to dismantle government safety nets; it's harder to transform those safety nets so that they work for people and can be paid for. It's easy to embrace a theological absolutism; it's harder to find the right balance between the legitimate role of faith in our lives and the demands of our civic religion. But that's our job. And I firmly believe that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, or oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. A polarized electorate that is turned off of politics, and easily dismisses both parties because of the nasty, dishonest tone of the debate, works perfectly well for those who seek to chip away at the very idea of government because, in the end, a cynical electorate is a selfish electorate.
I don't agree with his characterization of the republican's position entirely. But otherwiseI think he's right, it is harder to do things well than it is to go with the extreme option. Overall it is a good post you should read all of it. It's a well deserved smack on the head to the democrats over in wingnuttia. I hope they take it seriously.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Dave/Female Ratio: Men on Campus
My E-mail response to Glenn Reynold's posts Re the lack of men on college campuses:
I just graduated from university in 2004. Towards the later end of my college career my male housemates (I'm a girl) began evaluating the Dave/Female ratio in their classes. Because the Male to Female ratio was so high it gave no information. But the Dave/Female ratio was usually around 1.
My school was heavily science and engineering driven. Though they also have excellent art programs and their Drama program is well recognized. But there were lots of men. LOTS of men. (the ratio is M/F 6/4 or so)
They played games like "ball ball" in the hallway, which involved two guys sitting with their legs apart in the hall. They would take turns throwing a stress ball at the other's balls, and every time they flinched the other got a point. Though that particular game only lasted about long enough for one or two direct hits.
I loved going to a male dominated schoolbut there were no women's studies for me. I think I had maybe 3 female professors the entire time that I was there. I would note that all of our textbooks were written by men, but as I majored in Statistics that is hardly surprising.
I guess I'm just trying to point out that there are still places full of testasteroney goodness, and places where women who walk into Computer Science classrooms are treated like mentally challenged people. It is unfortunate but I think there has to be kindof a backlash against the male dominated education systems of the last... oh.... millennium. But I am sure things will settle into an equilibrium within the next 100 years or so.
Now if only we could figure out how to get lazy 17 year old boys to fill out college applications. I am sure their parents would be grateful.
UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit Readers!
I just graduated from university in 2004. Towards the later end of my college career my male housemates (I'm a girl) began evaluating the Dave/Female ratio in their classes. Because the Male to Female ratio was so high it gave no information. But the Dave/Female ratio was usually around 1.
My school was heavily science and engineering driven. Though they also have excellent art programs and their Drama program is well recognized. But there were lots of men. LOTS of men. (the ratio is M/F 6/4 or so)
They played games like "ball ball" in the hallway, which involved two guys sitting with their legs apart in the hall. They would take turns throwing a stress ball at the other's balls, and every time they flinched the other got a point. Though that particular game only lasted about long enough for one or two direct hits.
I loved going to a male dominated schoolbut there were no women's studies for me. I think I had maybe 3 female professors the entire time that I was there. I would note that all of our textbooks were written by men, but as I majored in Statistics that is hardly surprising.
I guess I'm just trying to point out that there are still places full of testasteroney goodness, and places where women who walk into Computer Science classrooms are treated like mentally challenged people. It is unfortunate but I think there has to be kindof a backlash against the male dominated education systems of the last... oh.... millennium. But I am sure things will settle into an equilibrium within the next 100 years or so.
Now if only we could figure out how to get lazy 17 year old boys to fill out college applications. I am sure their parents would be grateful.
UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit Readers!
No Serenity
For me. I was feeling too crappy to go and not get in, so I just stayed home. Tragic.
I will post about it after this weekend though when I go see it.
Right now all I can say is Michael Brown, why is your face all over CNN?
I will post about it after this weekend though when I go see it.
Right now all I can say is Michael Brown, why is your face all over CNN?
Friday, September 23, 2005
Cancelled!
Head Cases is cancelled. It sucks that I don't have mainstream taste, stuff I like always gets cancelled cause not enough people like it.
Probably
Hrun has this post today about academics versus real estate agents.
I am distraught that I came from the same place the blog he linked to is published. But in the comments section I found something that is commonly put forward by faith based types as "proof" of God, or some kind of intervention in the world and I can no longer let it go without comment:
here's a simple example. You go to McDonalds and run into your best friend from Highschool. "Jimmy! What are the odds?" Well actually they are pretty good. How many people go to McDonalds each day? I don't know, but every one of those people is a chance for someone to run into someone they know. Eventually it is going to happen. And if you go to McDonalds enough times, eventually it is going to happen to you.
The classic probability example is rolling a die and seeing what you get. Well every millisecond of every single day the universe is rolling dice, things are exploding, people are moving stars are imploding babies are born, people die, people who should die don't so on and so forth. With enough rolls of the dice you run into your buddy from McDondalds, or someone's untreatable cancer goes into remission, or my mom survives a horrible car accident and then a major stroke. These things could be small miracles, or maybe you just finally rolled a seven on the billion sided die.
The first time my stats prof made this point in class my whole being rebelled against it. How could it be that randomness can account for so much that goes on in life? It goes against the grain, and human nature to think this. But the more I thought about it from a scientific perspective, what is more probable? An all powerful all knowing god, or randomness?
Think whatever you want, but quit waving improbability around like it is proof of something, all that proves is that you don't understand what you're talking about.
I am distraught that I came from the same place the blog he linked to is published. But in the comments section I found something that is commonly put forward by faith based types as "proof" of God, or some kind of intervention in the world and I can no longer let it go without comment:
PZ and his accomplices are quibbling about details in order to obscure theImprobably is not the same as impossible. Lots of things are highly improbable. But the great thing about improbability is that there is still 1 chance. If the odds are 1/1,000,000 or 1/1,000,000^4 there is still a one in there. And over time, given enough chances that one will eventually happen.
larger picture. The spontaneous and random generation of life from non-life has been shown to so mathematically improbable as to be effectively impossible. They
either know that and won't accept it, or don't know it and aren't as informed as
they think they are.
here's a simple example. You go to McDonalds and run into your best friend from Highschool. "Jimmy! What are the odds?" Well actually they are pretty good. How many people go to McDonalds each day? I don't know, but every one of those people is a chance for someone to run into someone they know. Eventually it is going to happen. And if you go to McDonalds enough times, eventually it is going to happen to you.
The classic probability example is rolling a die and seeing what you get. Well every millisecond of every single day the universe is rolling dice, things are exploding, people are moving stars are imploding babies are born, people die, people who should die don't so on and so forth. With enough rolls of the dice you run into your buddy from McDondalds, or someone's untreatable cancer goes into remission, or my mom survives a horrible car accident and then a major stroke. These things could be small miracles, or maybe you just finally rolled a seven on the billion sided die.
The first time my stats prof made this point in class my whole being rebelled against it. How could it be that randomness can account for so much that goes on in life? It goes against the grain, and human nature to think this. But the more I thought about it from a scientific perspective, what is more probable? An all powerful all knowing god, or randomness?
Think whatever you want, but quit waving improbability around like it is proof of something, all that proves is that you don't understand what you're talking about.
A Refresher Course
On what a Controlled Social Experiment is.
Though he is specifically talking about firearms and looting, this could never be looked at as a controlled experiment from any point of view at all. I am disgusted that "professor" Reynolds actually linked this guy.
For an experiment to be controlled both "treatments" in this case the hurricane have to be applied independently. That is there has to be no dependence between the two treatments. They have to be applied to randomly selected groups of people, which this isn't happening in. Also, which group is the control group in this case?
None of these things apply in this case. One hurricane take place less than a month before the other, leaving the memory of the aftermath fresh in our minds and the consequences of not planning ahead fresh in the minds of officials. Also a number of refugees from the first hurricane are now fleeing the second.
Why does this matter? Well though I like guns, I dislike it when people manipulate scientific terms to achieve their own ends. Any conclusions drawn from this Not an Experiment would probably benefit the pro-gun folks as there will certainly be less looting and violence in Houston after Rita. But because there are so many factors involved like, oh... That other hurricane..... What was it called? There is NO WAY you could pinpoint gun control in the different states as a possible explanation for this difference.
But no one will ever read this and they will go forward believing WRONG things about gun control and how it caused the difference between the aftermath of hurricanes. Stupid hurts.
Though he is specifically talking about firearms and looting, this could never be looked at as a controlled experiment from any point of view at all. I am disgusted that "professor" Reynolds actually linked this guy.
For an experiment to be controlled both "treatments" in this case the hurricane have to be applied independently. That is there has to be no dependence between the two treatments. They have to be applied to randomly selected groups of people, which this isn't happening in. Also, which group is the control group in this case?
None of these things apply in this case. One hurricane take place less than a month before the other, leaving the memory of the aftermath fresh in our minds and the consequences of not planning ahead fresh in the minds of officials. Also a number of refugees from the first hurricane are now fleeing the second.
Why does this matter? Well though I like guns, I dislike it when people manipulate scientific terms to achieve their own ends. Any conclusions drawn from this Not an Experiment would probably benefit the pro-gun folks as there will certainly be less looting and violence in Houston after Rita. But because there are so many factors involved like, oh... That other hurricane..... What was it called? There is NO WAY you could pinpoint gun control in the different states as a possible explanation for this difference.
But no one will ever read this and they will go forward believing WRONG things about gun control and how it caused the difference between the aftermath of hurricanes. Stupid hurts.
Blogging Perks:Serenity
My first ever blogging related perk!
Thanks to the instapundit and I'm going to an advance screening of Serenity on Monday!!! And my name is on the press list :dies of shock:. If this doesn't work out I'm going to be really upset. Probably it wont when they realize my blog has traffic of -20. But for now I wont let that spoil my joy.
For those of you who don't know what Serenity is it is a movie based on the series Firefly, which is pretty dumb, but dumb in an enjoyable and fun way. It is a space future type thing but it has a western theme. In one episode they actually herd cattle. There is lots of humor and lots of shooting and some hot people, what's not to like? I think it might still be showing on the Sci Fi channel. I was never a fan of Buffy, but this show I like.
My review will be posted on Tuesday.
Thanks to the instapundit and I'm going to an advance screening of Serenity on Monday!!! And my name is on the press list :dies of shock:. If this doesn't work out I'm going to be really upset. Probably it wont when they realize my blog has traffic of -20. But for now I wont let that spoil my joy.
For those of you who don't know what Serenity is it is a movie based on the series Firefly, which is pretty dumb, but dumb in an enjoyable and fun way. It is a space future type thing but it has a western theme. In one episode they actually herd cattle. There is lots of humor and lots of shooting and some hot people, what's not to like? I think it might still be showing on the Sci Fi channel. I was never a fan of Buffy, but this show I like.
My review will be posted on Tuesday.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
When I grow up......
I wanna kill all the stupid journalists. Thank god for my mad ninja skills, because I think all the stupid journalists is a number not dissimilar to all the journalists.
Why the bloodbath? Well I grow more frustrated daily with the inability of Journalists to critically evaluate a situation from an unbiased perspective. It is possible that articles like this one are a result of an editor saying to a journalist "write me an article about girls in college who just want to be moms." I guess it isn't really there fault that they are forced to draw false conclusions, but y'know whatever.
Echidne has a good post on this article but unsurprisingly I can't resist adding my two cents.
This article uses completely biased interviews. And then it goes on to quote statistics of alum surveys without even questioning for a second that maybe women who both work and have children don't have time to answer a stupid survey! So that maybe these results could be biased to show a higher percentage of non working people. Duuuur.
This quote actually made me vomit a little:
Why the bloodbath? Well I grow more frustrated daily with the inability of Journalists to critically evaluate a situation from an unbiased perspective. It is possible that articles like this one are a result of an editor saying to a journalist "write me an article about girls in college who just want to be moms." I guess it isn't really there fault that they are forced to draw false conclusions, but y'know whatever.
Echidne has a good post on this article but unsurprisingly I can't resist adding my two cents.
This article uses completely biased interviews. And then it goes on to quote statistics of alum surveys without even questioning for a second that maybe women who both work and have children don't have time to answer a stupid survey! So that maybe these results could be biased to show a higher percentage of non working people. Duuuur.
This quote actually made me vomit a little:
Sarah Currie, a senior at Harvard, said many of the men in her AmericanI've got to say, if some guy told me how it gets him hot thinking about me staying home and raising his kids, I'd beat the living shit out of him. And I don't think that I am even a little alone in that. It is true, a lot of women want to raise their own kids, but one has to wonder why that is? I also think it is important to keep in mind that it has really only been 50 years since women were out in the workforce in any real capacity and expecting a complete reversal or neutralizing of gender roles in 50 years is just a little much.
Family class last fall approved of women's plans to stay home with their
children.
"A lot of the guys were like, 'I think that's really great,' " Ms.
Currie said. "One of the guys was like, 'I think that's sexy.' Staying
at home with your children isn't as polarizing of an issue as I envision it
is for women who are in their 30's now."
This article accepts this quote at face value but I think that it indicates what the real problem here is, the status quo.Ms. Ku added that she did not think it was a problem that women usually do most of the work raising kids.
"I accept things how they are," she said. "I don't mind the status quo. I don't see why I have to go against it."
Monday, September 19, 2005
Bad Economic News
I want to publish information about the economy that I get from my job. But I don't want to lose my job. So for now I will stick with a vague indication that people are not spending as much in retail stores the past 3 weeks. So far the average weekly retail sales for September are 10% lower than August.
This is bad news, consumers are not handling the skyrocketing gas prices well especially since a lot of new cars were purchased in the summer, this is bad news for retailers. Which is in turn bad news for the economy. Hopefully holiday spending wont be affected this badly, but if this downward trend continues for so long we may be at risk for inflation and recession.
This is bad news, consumers are not handling the skyrocketing gas prices well especially since a lot of new cars were purchased in the summer, this is bad news for retailers. Which is in turn bad news for the economy. Hopefully holiday spending wont be affected this badly, but if this downward trend continues for so long we may be at risk for inflation and recession.
Defense
Finally the strong manly men have come to the aid of the helpless feminists! Explaining to others what our feeble minds could never begin to put into words.
Thanks Hubris.
It is an awesome post, and I second some of the commentors opinions that he will get mad play because of it.
Hot Girl: "Come here baby, talk politics to me some more"
Hubris: "You only love me for my brain!"
Thanks Hubris.
It is an awesome post, and I second some of the commentors opinions that he will get mad play because of it.
Hot Girl: "Come here baby, talk politics to me some more"
Hubris: "You only love me for my brain!"
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Good Ideas
Ilyka is PISSED:
"This was really just a long preamble to saying that I'm quitting this blog.
I'm getting a sex change. Not in real life, but in internet life. I intend to come back as a man."
And I think she's got the right idea.
I have a bunch of pointless anecdotes that would support the irritatingness of sexism in life blogging and everything, but her posts are way better than mine, so you should read them instead.
But for the record, I agree Ilyka on this, which I'm sure would mean more if I were actually a conservative.
"This was really just a long preamble to saying that I'm quitting this blog.
I'm getting a sex change. Not in real life, but in internet life. I intend to come back as a man."
And I think she's got the right idea.
I have a bunch of pointless anecdotes that would support the irritatingness of sexism in life blogging and everything, but her posts are way better than mine, so you should read them instead.
But for the record, I agree Ilyka on this, which I'm sure would mean more if I were actually a conservative.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
200 Posts
Since January 24th. Almost 6,000 total page views and an average of 25 visits per day. Wooo hooo! Traffic greater than 3, I am Shinobi's Joy.
Fortunately since I have moved on to my bigger and better life in Chicago I no longer harbor dreams of making money from blogging, as I have a feeling that dream would have gone unfulfilled like so many others. But I will keep blogging as long as I still have the time to waste and people who don't suck around.
(By the way, my new job is fabulous, Chicago is super cool, my lovely lakeview apartment is awesome and my roommate occasionally cleans up after me for no apparant reason. YAY!! I would have posted about it before, but talking about how great my life is would hardly be interesting.)
Fortunately since I have moved on to my bigger and better life in Chicago I no longer harbor dreams of making money from blogging, as I have a feeling that dream would have gone unfulfilled like so many others. But I will keep blogging as long as I still have the time to waste and people who don't suck around.
(By the way, my new job is fabulous, Chicago is super cool, my lovely lakeview apartment is awesome and my roommate occasionally cleans up after me for no apparant reason. YAY!! I would have posted about it before, but talking about how great my life is would hardly be interesting.)
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
My near death experience:
I died of shock today when I read this on the front page of CNN:
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government and to the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush said during a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
And then as I ascended the president said he wanted to find the problems so he could fix them and make things work better. I was in heaven.
Oh wait.. no, here is a pile of work for me to do. So not heaven, reality.
What he said in his statement was the kind of response I've been hoping for. I really hope that it wasn't motivated by politics but by a genuine desire to fix the problem. I hope he gets it right and does a good job of doing what he said he was going to do in his statement. Please.
UPDATE: Heaven has turned to hell. John Cole links to a DKos peice calling for Bush's resignation. Now while I am happy that the President has in some way acknowledged that there were some issues and is planning to have an investigation in order to improve matters. I am revolted that someone could be this stupid. If doing a bad job were a reason for a person to resign, well, there would be a lot more open positions out there, let me tell you. (via PW)
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government and to the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush said during a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
And then as I ascended the president said he wanted to find the problems so he could fix them and make things work better. I was in heaven.
Oh wait.. no, here is a pile of work for me to do. So not heaven, reality.
What he said in his statement was the kind of response I've been hoping for. I really hope that it wasn't motivated by politics but by a genuine desire to fix the problem. I hope he gets it right and does a good job of doing what he said he was going to do in his statement. Please.
UPDATE: Heaven has turned to hell. John Cole links to a DKos peice calling for Bush's resignation. Now while I am happy that the President has in some way acknowledged that there were some issues and is planning to have an investigation in order to improve matters. I am revolted that someone could be this stupid. If doing a bad job were a reason for a person to resign, well, there would be a lot more open positions out there, let me tell you. (via PW)
Duuuuuuude
So like... what do you think humans are going to be like, like... In the FUTURE
Duuuude.......
I seriously think Fortune shoved some people in a room and were like, make some cool shit up about the future. Cause honestly, what woman wants to be fertile her whole life? Yuck, I'm only 23 and I'm ready for a vacation from fertility. And a microchip implanted in your brain to deliver drug doses? Uhm.... aren't we taking this drug use thing a little far?
It reminds me too much of Equilibrium, which was a great movie, but not a future I'm interested in.
Duuuude.......
I seriously think Fortune shoved some people in a room and were like, make some cool shit up about the future. Cause honestly, what woman wants to be fertile her whole life? Yuck, I'm only 23 and I'm ready for a vacation from fertility. And a microchip implanted in your brain to deliver drug doses? Uhm.... aren't we taking this drug use thing a little far?
It reminds me too much of Equilibrium, which was a great movie, but not a future I'm interested in.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Bad Science
Is everywhere in the media. Ben Goldacre examines why in The Gaurdian. (via Mr. Reynolds)
I think he is too harsh on Humanities students. After all, we have to get cheap labor somewhere. But he definetly isn't too harsh on the journalists:
"Statistics are what causes the most fear for reporters, and so they are usually just edited out, with interesting consequences. Because science isn't about something being true or not true: that's a humanities graduate parody. It's about the error bar, statistical significance, it's about how reliable and valid the experiment was, it's about coming to a verdict, about a hypothesis, on the back of lots of bits of evidence."
Sad, but True. Silly Journalists Statistics are for kids.
I think he is too harsh on Humanities students. After all, we have to get cheap labor somewhere. But he definetly isn't too harsh on the journalists:
"Statistics are what causes the most fear for reporters, and so they are usually just edited out, with interesting consequences. Because science isn't about something being true or not true: that's a humanities graduate parody. It's about the error bar, statistical significance, it's about how reliable and valid the experiment was, it's about coming to a verdict, about a hypothesis, on the back of lots of bits of evidence."
Sad, but True. Silly Journalists Statistics are for kids.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Mistakes....
are what you make when you spel things rong, or when you do a math problem.
They are not easily recognized when it comes to human behavior. What I may see as a mistake, you may see as an unfortunate incident or you may even disagree as to whether or not the actions taken were wrong.
But the commentors at PW have been requesting a list of mistakes made by FEMA in the rescue effort. Personally I don't think such a list is productive in any way, but I cannot listen to people singing the praises of an organization whose preformance in the face of this disaster has been mediocre.
Has it been mediocre? Really? Well I certainly hope that the most powerful nation in the world is better equipped to rescue and protect its citizens than what we have seen in the past week. I REALLY hope. A lot. I am not willing to accept that this is the best we can do, and so I have some criticsm.
But any criticism needs to have a purpose besides shifting the blame around, we need to use this information to make sure that future indicents are handled in a more effective manner than this one was. If placing blame were a solution to a problem then there would be far fewer problems in this world.
But none the less, here are some links to some shall we say "interesting choices" made by officials that I personally do not agree with.
Interesting FEMA Choices
Firefighters as PR machines (Washingon Post link, or Salt Lake Tribune)
Interesting local Choices:
Maybe they just needed a Map
Gosh I'm glad that I am not there:
First hand account of evacuation (via Echidne)
Live blogging from a doctor
Update: Interesting Choices in Handling the Media:
Scott McClellan (via Moon)
QandO re: DLC response
I would love to update this post with more stuff, but I have a job and junk, so I will do this as I find more links, or if my 2 readers send them to me.
They are not easily recognized when it comes to human behavior. What I may see as a mistake, you may see as an unfortunate incident or you may even disagree as to whether or not the actions taken were wrong.
But the commentors at PW have been requesting a list of mistakes made by FEMA in the rescue effort. Personally I don't think such a list is productive in any way, but I cannot listen to people singing the praises of an organization whose preformance in the face of this disaster has been mediocre.
Has it been mediocre? Really? Well I certainly hope that the most powerful nation in the world is better equipped to rescue and protect its citizens than what we have seen in the past week. I REALLY hope. A lot. I am not willing to accept that this is the best we can do, and so I have some criticsm.
But any criticism needs to have a purpose besides shifting the blame around, we need to use this information to make sure that future indicents are handled in a more effective manner than this one was. If placing blame were a solution to a problem then there would be far fewer problems in this world.
But none the less, here are some links to some shall we say "interesting choices" made by officials that I personally do not agree with.
Interesting FEMA Choices
Firefighters as PR machines (Washingon Post link, or Salt Lake Tribune)
Interesting local Choices:
Maybe they just needed a Map
Gosh I'm glad that I am not there:
First hand account of evacuation (via Echidne)
Live blogging from a doctor
Update: Interesting Choices in Handling the Media:
Scott McClellan (via Moon)
QandO re: DLC response
I would love to update this post with more stuff, but I have a job and junk, so I will do this as I find more links, or if my 2 readers send them to me.
Liberal Dictionaries
I was checking my Gmail and on top it showed a link from Dictionary.com:
Dictionary.com: demagogue: A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals....
The link brought me to:
demagogue \DEM-uh-gog\, noun:
1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.
2. A leader of the common people in ancient times.
I'm not saying this word has any particular significance or anything. Nope. I'm just mentioning it.
Update: Oooooo Demagoguery! Via QandO
Dictionary.com: demagogue: A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals....
The link brought me to:
demagogue \DEM-uh-gog\, noun:
1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.
2. A leader of the common people in ancient times.
I'm not saying this word has any particular significance or anything. Nope. I'm just mentioning it.
Update: Oooooo Demagoguery! Via QandO
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
The Blame
"No, of course what really matters
Is the blame,
Somebody to blame."
Since the majority of individuals in this roundish world of ours will spend significant portions of their lives trying to avoid beling blamed for their own screw ups, I find it interesting that they are so quick to place blame on other people. If we were half as quick at responding to emergency situations as we are go assign blame when the shit hits the fan then perhaps 80,000 people wouldn't have spent last week trapped in New Orleans.
Maybe what really needs to be happening right now and as the south begins its recovery is a gathering of information about what happend. For instance this timeline at Think Progress is a start (though a VERY biased start) at getting a picture of what happend during the crisis. It would also be interesting to get as much information as possible from first responders and journalists who were on the scene. And perhaps to talk to refugees about what happend. But please note, I said Information, by this I mean facts. Like it is a fact that the Governer of Louisiana declared a state of emergency on Friday August, 26th. So on and so forth. And from there we can try to peice together an accurate picture of what happend.
I think this would be an interesting blog project to start, gathering as much information as possible and maybe getting a group of academics to conduct their own investigation. (Since any investigation by the government is likely to be political... what? politicians political?) Maybe someone who gets more than 2 hits a day could do this.
While it would be really fun to fire a bunch of people , It probably wont prevent the same thing from happening again in 6 months. What having this information could do is help us find out where emergency plans failed, where communications broke down, and to find out a way to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Where does there need to be redundancy to ensure that our officials aren't wandering lost in the dark? How many reservists need to be on American soil in case of a similar incident? How can we get food/water and other necessities to stranded people?
But what I really hope comes of this situation, is that at some point Americans wake up and begin electing real leaders who have the best interests of the country in mind, and who can make tough decisions and take care of the people.
But, we all know that wont happen.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Mayor of New Orleans
Echidne has the link to the interview.
"They're feeding the public a line of bull and they're spinning and people are dying down here."
For the record, I know the difference between a musician and a political offical. I just can't spell.
"They're feeding the public a line of bull and they're spinning and people are dying down here."
For the record, I know the difference between a musician and a political offical. I just can't spell.
Open Mouth
Insert Foot. (via Hrun)
I was wrong. It looks like the structural and property damage caused by Katrina may actually be similar to the Tsunami, though thusfar it doesn't seem like the human casualties are as high. (Though they are certainly higher than they were.) Certainly the aftermath of the disaster is claiming still unnumbered lives.
It is breaking my heart to hear these stories of people dying in front of the Superdome and the hospitals without power that are still full of people. It sounds like a living nightmare. I wish I had a humvee and a very large boat so I could get down there and rescue them. But instead I will sit in an office and play with numbers. *twich*
I was wrong. It looks like the structural and property damage caused by Katrina may actually be similar to the Tsunami, though thusfar it doesn't seem like the human casualties are as high. (Though they are certainly higher than they were.) Certainly the aftermath of the disaster is claiming still unnumbered lives.
It is breaking my heart to hear these stories of people dying in front of the Superdome and the hospitals without power that are still full of people. It sounds like a living nightmare. I wish I had a humvee and a very large boat so I could get down there and rescue them. But instead I will sit in an office and play with numbers. *twich*
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Age Limits on Sex
For girls, but not for boys?
An FDA official resigned last week over the continued delay of a decision on Plan B's over the counter availability. According to the article on CNN some members of the FDA want to apply an age limit for Plan B. Girls under the age of 17 would require a perscription, where as adult women would not.
"Crawford announced Friday that the agency considered over-the-counter sales to women 17 and older fine, but that younger teens would still need a prescription -- and that the agency was unable to decide how pharmacies could enforce an age limit, or even if it was legal to have such dual sales"
Now, as far as I am aware, there is no age limit on the purchase of condoms without a prescription so my question is, why do we put an age limit on contraception that women control, but not on contraception for men?
Some may say Oh, well condoms aren't the SAME as Plan B because they aren't medication. Well I will say, what other Birth Control methods are available to women without a doctors appointment that are similar? Hmmmm Hmmm........... none. Yeah, that's right, I said it. You have to get fitted by a doctor or nurse for a diaphragm, and birth control requires a gynecological exam. So if a girl wants to have sex an not worry about pregnancy then she has to go to the doctor. Now Plan B is not the kind of thing you want to use a lot as it is very bad for the old hormonal balance and sanity, but it would at least give a girl some emergency options besides prayer, which really isn't all that effective.
An FDA official resigned last week over the continued delay of a decision on Plan B's over the counter availability. According to the article on CNN some members of the FDA want to apply an age limit for Plan B. Girls under the age of 17 would require a perscription, where as adult women would not.
"Crawford announced Friday that the agency considered over-the-counter sales to women 17 and older fine, but that younger teens would still need a prescription -- and that the agency was unable to decide how pharmacies could enforce an age limit, or even if it was legal to have such dual sales"
Now, as far as I am aware, there is no age limit on the purchase of condoms without a prescription so my question is, why do we put an age limit on contraception that women control, but not on contraception for men?
Some may say Oh, well condoms aren't the SAME as Plan B because they aren't medication. Well I will say, what other Birth Control methods are available to women without a doctors appointment that are similar? Hmmmm Hmmm........... none. Yeah, that's right, I said it. You have to get fitted by a doctor or nurse for a diaphragm, and birth control requires a gynecological exam. So if a girl wants to have sex an not worry about pregnancy then she has to go to the doctor. Now Plan B is not the kind of thing you want to use a lot as it is very bad for the old hormonal balance and sanity, but it would at least give a girl some emergency options besides prayer, which really isn't all that effective.
Wisdom for the ages
Today I am adding a new Truth to my list of Truths which I began compiling during a literature class.
To date my favorite Truth is: "Nice is Different Than Good"
Today I am adding "Just becaue people agree with it, doesn't make it right."
As evidenced by this Poll linked by Bill Quick (via INDCJournal) which says that 48% of those polled endorse teaching Creationism in the schools.
Now, while I am sensitive to the fact that some people would rather believe a very old book that their parents gave them than a very new book that some scientist wrote, that doesn't mean that I want their stupidity infecting the next generation of potential idiots. Religion belongs in religion class, that's where it goes. If you want your kids to be taught creationism (much like I was) then send them to a Christian school (like I went to). This I think is one of the fatal flaws in our democracy, it relies on the wisdom of the masses, which is really saying that it relies on stupidity. Which is disheartening for those of us who have brains and use them on a semi-regular basis.
So a poll says some people believe something, that's great and all, but all that makes them is stupid. It is wrong to base our teachings on what Americans believe, this is why we are falling behind the rest of the world. We base too many of our decisions as a country on the opinions of people who never graduated from highschool. Yes, there are more of them, but they are still wrong.
This also ties in with a wired article "Swift Boating" Science that my gmail seemed to think I might want to read the other day about a book about how science is being ignored and manipulated by politicians. (Though mostly republicans honestly, I think they are just better at it than the Dems.)
All of this makes me think of something said by Jeanne Garafalo (AHH CRAZY LIBERAL NO) in one of her movies. "Is being an Idiot like being high all the time?" I do wonder.
To date my favorite Truth is: "Nice is Different Than Good"
Today I am adding "Just becaue people agree with it, doesn't make it right."
As evidenced by this Poll linked by Bill Quick (via INDCJournal) which says that 48% of those polled endorse teaching Creationism in the schools.
Now, while I am sensitive to the fact that some people would rather believe a very old book that their parents gave them than a very new book that some scientist wrote, that doesn't mean that I want their stupidity infecting the next generation of potential idiots. Religion belongs in religion class, that's where it goes. If you want your kids to be taught creationism (much like I was) then send them to a Christian school (like I went to). This I think is one of the fatal flaws in our democracy, it relies on the wisdom of the masses, which is really saying that it relies on stupidity. Which is disheartening for those of us who have brains and use them on a semi-regular basis.
So a poll says some people believe something, that's great and all, but all that makes them is stupid. It is wrong to base our teachings on what Americans believe, this is why we are falling behind the rest of the world. We base too many of our decisions as a country on the opinions of people who never graduated from highschool. Yes, there are more of them, but they are still wrong.
This also ties in with a wired article "Swift Boating" Science that my gmail seemed to think I might want to read the other day about a book about how science is being ignored and manipulated by politicians. (Though mostly republicans honestly, I think they are just better at it than the Dems.)
All of this makes me think of something said by Jeanne Garafalo (AHH CRAZY LIBERAL NO) in one of her movies. "Is being an Idiot like being high all the time?" I do wonder.
Ouch
Waiting For a Leader
I know, I know, crazy liberal NYT, but..... they do kindof have a point.
(Via Echidne)
UPDATE: I keep hearing rightys say how leftys are blaming Bush so I want to clarify my position. I don't blame Bush for the hurricane (Unless President George Bush, is an EVIL SORCERER I don't see how that is his fault). I don't really blame him for any part of this scenario, at all, even the craziness, blame is really a waste of time. I am however critical of the slow reaction and lack of leadership on his part. I would like to have him tell me what I could do to help the people in NO, or tell me what he's doing to fix things, or... well, something, but he didn't and that frustrates me. I don't think he caused this, but I don't think he's doing a great job of fixing it either.
And before the whole Bush is better/worse than Clinton convo starts, I don't care what any other president did in this situation. If they all responded in a less appropriate manor than Bush I still wouldn't care. Even if you are doing a slightly less shitty job than the person who came before you, you are still doing a shitty job and the fact that the person before you was worse doesn't make it better. If we expect to get nothing, then we will recieve nothing.
I know, I know, crazy liberal NYT, but..... they do kindof have a point.
(Via Echidne)
UPDATE: I keep hearing rightys say how leftys are blaming Bush so I want to clarify my position. I don't blame Bush for the hurricane (Unless President George Bush, is an EVIL SORCERER I don't see how that is his fault). I don't really blame him for any part of this scenario, at all, even the craziness, blame is really a waste of time. I am however critical of the slow reaction and lack of leadership on his part. I would like to have him tell me what I could do to help the people in NO, or tell me what he's doing to fix things, or... well, something, but he didn't and that frustrates me. I don't think he caused this, but I don't think he's doing a great job of fixing it either.
And before the whole Bush is better/worse than Clinton convo starts, I don't care what any other president did in this situation. If they all responded in a less appropriate manor than Bush I still wouldn't care. Even if you are doing a slightly less shitty job than the person who came before you, you are still doing a shitty job and the fact that the person before you was worse doesn't make it better. If we expect to get nothing, then we will recieve nothing.
Katrina is a Bitch
Yeah, I said it, what a bitch.
Instapundit is linking tons of people linking tons of charity's. Go donate to your favorite.
The news coming out of New Orleans of thousands dead and rampant looting and violence is also disturbing. Where is our Government now that they are needed? We can't get rid of it when we don't want it, and now there is lawlessness and rioting in the wake of poor disaster management.
Instapundit is linking tons of people linking tons of charity's. Go donate to your favorite.
The news coming out of New Orleans of thousands dead and rampant looting and violence is also disturbing. Where is our Government now that they are needed? We can't get rid of it when we don't want it, and now there is lawlessness and rioting in the wake of poor disaster management.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
'This is our tsunami'
yeah, 55-70 dead, or a couple hundred thousand, no difference there.
Americans make me want to vomit sometimes.
While I don't mean to disparage in any way the victims of Hurricane Katrina or the damage to the historic community of New Orleans. The two are really not comparable. If we go with a conservative number of 100,000 deaths in the Tsunami, and estimate 100 deaths from Katrina, we still find that the number dead from Katrina is 0.1% of the Tsunami deaths. To compare the two is revolting.
As far as billions of dollars of damages, well at least New Orleans had some warning.
My thoughts are with the City of New Orleans and the families of the victims. But we are one of the worlds most prosporous nations, lets not play the "victim of horrible catastrophy" card too much, eh?
Update: Hrun and I agree.
Update Heh: Mr. Reynolds's recent posts seem to be implying that the world an the US should be reacting to the current situation similarly to the Tsunami. (maybe I'm just reading too much between the lines though)
We have money, and we can donate and take care of our fellow citizens just like we did after 9/11, we don't need to rely on the world for this! Donate to the Red Cross, or Noah's Wish (for animals).
Americans make me want to vomit sometimes.
While I don't mean to disparage in any way the victims of Hurricane Katrina or the damage to the historic community of New Orleans. The two are really not comparable. If we go with a conservative number of 100,000 deaths in the Tsunami, and estimate 100 deaths from Katrina, we still find that the number dead from Katrina is 0.1% of the Tsunami deaths. To compare the two is revolting.
As far as billions of dollars of damages, well at least New Orleans had some warning.
My thoughts are with the City of New Orleans and the families of the victims. But we are one of the worlds most prosporous nations, lets not play the "victim of horrible catastrophy" card too much, eh?
Update: Hrun and I agree.
Update Heh: Mr. Reynolds's recent posts seem to be implying that the world an the US should be reacting to the current situation similarly to the Tsunami. (maybe I'm just reading too much between the lines though)
Apparently the difference between 100,000 and 100, or several countries and one city is lost on some parts of the United States. I wonder if this constant comparison thing stems from the human's need for familiarity, maybe they want response to every disaster to be exactly the same.... I don't know."UPDATE: Reader Loren Rueter emails: "Any foreign governments
offering aid?"
None that I've heard of. Should we call 'em stingy?
ANOTHER UPDATE: Less snarkily, The Anchoress emails:Glenn, remember how Amazon put together
the Honor System for
donations after
the Tsunami? Couldn't something like that
be
done?It certainly could. Will it? I guess somebody should ask
Jeff Bezos!
We have money, and we can donate and take care of our fellow citizens just like we did after 9/11, we don't need to rely on the world for this! Donate to the Red Cross, or Noah's Wish (for animals).
Monday, August 29, 2005
Friday, August 26, 2005
Women's Equality Day
Glenn Reynolds posted this today(Update: on Women's Equality Day, Nice timing guys.). This article discusses the differences between men and women blacks and whites. It is very interesting, but unsurprisingly I have a problem with it.
The intent of this post is not to attempt to prove that women are just as good as men at everything. Personally I'd rather be able to put on matching shoes in the morning than to do quantum physics. Maybe that's because I'm a girl, or maybe that is common sense.
The point I would actually like to make at this point is that there is a reason one does not go around proclaiming from the rooftops that Germans are better drinkers than Irishmen based on their genetic code, or that men are better at math. The reason is in fact that all men are NOT created equal.
When I read this paper, I understand that on average men are better at some things than women, but that these averages are merely representations of a distribution. I know that there will still be extraordinary women who can kick 99% of men's asses at tennis, or who can do quantum physics better faster stronger. But when I was tested in highschool I was in the 95th percentile on everything, so this means that 95% of the population tested lower than me. So at what point do people start being smart enough to understand these things? My generous estimate is that the 70%ile and above understand distributions and outliers and such, and that the rest of the country would read this and go, "Huh? So what is Britney naming her baby again?"
So why is this important, well, it is important because if you say to Mr. Average Joe American guy, "Hey, the average woman is worse at math than the average man", this turns into, "Hey, Women aren't as good at math". It doesn't leave room for understanding that there are still some women who are better at math than most men. Maybe if they thought really hard about it would, but probably not, thinking.... haaard..... Og no like.... Where Grand Theft Auto? Og want shoot things and have sex with hookers.
It is crucial that guard against these conclusions because it is this sort of thinking that leads to prejudice. Understanding the differences between the genders and the races could be very interesting. But it also has potential to re-create the kind of racism and sexism that we fought so hard against in the 20th century. It is generally a bad idea to give people any kind of scientific proof that they are in any way superior to others. Does anyone besides me remember slavery? Or how white conquerors assumed their superiority over other races and slaughtered many of them? (Maybe what white men really have that other races don't is the intrinsic belief that they are better than everyone else? I digress)
Though you and I understand the science, that these are averages, and that there are still girls who want to play sports, Og does not. And if research that proves women are better or worse at some things becomes common knowledge I could eventually lose my job to a guy not because he is better at math than me but because men are better at math than women. And I'd make a really crummy housewife.
What I find interesting is the disdain in the paper and in Mr. Reynold's post for being politically correct, and ignoring supposed differences between demographic groups. Personally I think it must be very easy for white men to look around at people who are struggling and point out that they must not be as smart, or that their ancestors weren't as good at hunting. Where is the intellectual challenge in pointing out that people make less money than you and have one fewer Nobel peace prizes as a group.
It is, in my opinion, much more difficult to show empathy for those in whose shoes we have never walked, and attempt to understand WHY the races or the genders are not equal, if in fact they are not. But while we conduct this research we have to be sensitive to the stupidity of the average person. We have to keep in mind that the average person would LOVE to believe that he/she/it is in some way superior to women, or blacks, or Asians, or white guys, and that arming these people in any way with science is extremely dangerous to the current semi-egalitarian state of affairs.
Meanwhile: John Cole Links to Another Study that will Piss Everyone Off. I'm not pissed, if the men want to be convinced they are smarter than us, I'm okay with that, as long as they don't expect me to go home and start making babies (shudder). This could be fun. I'm moving on wednesday and, well, I'm just so dumb I can't figure out how to carry boxes and drive a U-Haul, are there any big smart men that could help me out?
But seriously, maybe men are just better at IQ tests. Duh.
The intent of this post is not to attempt to prove that women are just as good as men at everything. Personally I'd rather be able to put on matching shoes in the morning than to do quantum physics. Maybe that's because I'm a girl, or maybe that is common sense.
The point I would actually like to make at this point is that there is a reason one does not go around proclaiming from the rooftops that Germans are better drinkers than Irishmen based on their genetic code, or that men are better at math. The reason is in fact that all men are NOT created equal.
When I read this paper, I understand that on average men are better at some things than women, but that these averages are merely representations of a distribution. I know that there will still be extraordinary women who can kick 99% of men's asses at tennis, or who can do quantum physics better faster stronger. But when I was tested in highschool I was in the 95th percentile on everything, so this means that 95% of the population tested lower than me. So at what point do people start being smart enough to understand these things? My generous estimate is that the 70%ile and above understand distributions and outliers and such, and that the rest of the country would read this and go, "Huh? So what is Britney naming her baby again?"
So why is this important, well, it is important because if you say to Mr. Average Joe American guy, "Hey, the average woman is worse at math than the average man", this turns into, "Hey, Women aren't as good at math". It doesn't leave room for understanding that there are still some women who are better at math than most men. Maybe if they thought really hard about it would, but probably not, thinking.... haaard..... Og no like.... Where Grand Theft Auto? Og want shoot things and have sex with hookers.
It is crucial that guard against these conclusions because it is this sort of thinking that leads to prejudice. Understanding the differences between the genders and the races could be very interesting. But it also has potential to re-create the kind of racism and sexism that we fought so hard against in the 20th century. It is generally a bad idea to give people any kind of scientific proof that they are in any way superior to others. Does anyone besides me remember slavery? Or how white conquerors assumed their superiority over other races and slaughtered many of them? (Maybe what white men really have that other races don't is the intrinsic belief that they are better than everyone else? I digress)
Though you and I understand the science, that these are averages, and that there are still girls who want to play sports, Og does not. And if research that proves women are better or worse at some things becomes common knowledge I could eventually lose my job to a guy not because he is better at math than me but because men are better at math than women. And I'd make a really crummy housewife.
What I find interesting is the disdain in the paper and in Mr. Reynold's post for being politically correct, and ignoring supposed differences between demographic groups. Personally I think it must be very easy for white men to look around at people who are struggling and point out that they must not be as smart, or that their ancestors weren't as good at hunting. Where is the intellectual challenge in pointing out that people make less money than you and have one fewer Nobel peace prizes as a group.
It is, in my opinion, much more difficult to show empathy for those in whose shoes we have never walked, and attempt to understand WHY the races or the genders are not equal, if in fact they are not. But while we conduct this research we have to be sensitive to the stupidity of the average person. We have to keep in mind that the average person would LOVE to believe that he/she/it is in some way superior to women, or blacks, or Asians, or white guys, and that arming these people in any way with science is extremely dangerous to the current semi-egalitarian state of affairs.
Meanwhile: John Cole Links to Another Study that will Piss Everyone Off. I'm not pissed, if the men want to be convinced they are smarter than us, I'm okay with that, as long as they don't expect me to go home and start making babies (shudder). This could be fun. I'm moving on wednesday and, well, I'm just so dumb I can't figure out how to carry boxes and drive a U-Haul, are there any big smart men that could help me out?
But seriously, maybe men are just better at IQ tests. Duh.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
It TALKS!
I've signed up for googletalk. Just in case you feel like some real time ranting, since I obviously SUCK at blogging. (Clearly because I can't do it and play Worlds of Warcraft simultaneously, why worry about the real world when I can actually kill the people who are causing trouble in Azeroth.)
You can gtalk me at shinobi42@gmail.com
And if you are a pathetic loser without a gmail address, e-mail me because I have about a thousand invites.
You can gtalk me at shinobi42@gmail.com
And if you are a pathetic loser without a gmail address, e-mail me because I have about a thousand invites.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Half-Assed
This is my problem with America today, everything we do is half assed. We get to the deadline, look over our current situation and shrug. Eh, Close enough. Sorry kids, close only counts in horseshoes. My family and I have long employed the phrase "Close enough for government work" I wish that it were just funny, and not quite as true.
So what am I talking about right? Oh yeah. I'm talking about the concession to the Islamic fundamentalists in the Iraqi Constitution which may turn into a huge blow for women's rights in Iraq. You should read Echidne's posts and Digby's posts because they are quite good.
My personal take, Why bother to invade a country only to fuck it up? I wasn't pro this invasion, and I think our military is spread to thin, but we got in to this and we might as well do it right. I think it is stupid for politicians to give into pressures to bring our boys home before the mission is accomplished. We did this and now we will only make things WORSE by doing a half assed job. We can't un-invade Iraq, so protesting for peace is just stupid. If anything we should make sure to do a good job this time, so that we don't have to go back. Though it may be too late for that already.
This is only made worse by the fact that media type pundits seem to think it is okay that we do a half assed job:
MR. GERECHT: Actually, I'm not terribly worried about this. I mean, one hopes that the Iraqis protect women's social rights as much as possible. It certainly seems clear that in protecting the political rights, there's no discussion of women not having the right to vote. I think it's important to remember that in the year 1900, for example, in the United States, it was a democracy then. In 1900, women did not have the right to vote. If Iraqis could develop a democracy that resembled America in the 1900s, I think we'd all be thrilled. I mean, women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy. We hope they're there. I think they will be there. But I think we need to put this into perspective. (emphasis mine via Echidne)
Can anyone find this guy's contact info? He makes me want to vomit, so I thought I'd mail him some.
Excuse me, but WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!! I'm sorry, I don't even understand how someone could say this out loud without some part of their brain clicking on and realizing they sound like a complete ASSHOLE. All political correctness aside, he has to be kidding! The social rights of half the population of a country are not critical? How can we invade a country only to remove social rights from HALF of the country's population.
Mr. Gerecht seems to think it perfectly reasonable, so I have a proposal. How about we enact legislation here in the US, where everyone flips a coin. Everyone who gets heads, gets the right to make their own decisions, and everyone who gets tails suddenly becomes the ward of their oldest living relative who got heads. And from now on every time a child is born we flip a coin and they become either heads or tails. Heads they get to pick what they study, what they wear, who they marry etc and Tails they can't get a divorce, fight for custody of their children or leave the country without permission, among other things. Sound cool? Because that's what we're talking about here.
How like America to invade a country and then liberate only half of it.
So what am I talking about right? Oh yeah. I'm talking about the concession to the Islamic fundamentalists in the Iraqi Constitution which may turn into a huge blow for women's rights in Iraq. You should read Echidne's posts and Digby's posts because they are quite good.
My personal take, Why bother to invade a country only to fuck it up? I wasn't pro this invasion, and I think our military is spread to thin, but we got in to this and we might as well do it right. I think it is stupid for politicians to give into pressures to bring our boys home before the mission is accomplished. We did this and now we will only make things WORSE by doing a half assed job. We can't un-invade Iraq, so protesting for peace is just stupid. If anything we should make sure to do a good job this time, so that we don't have to go back. Though it may be too late for that already.
This is only made worse by the fact that media type pundits seem to think it is okay that we do a half assed job:
MR. GERECHT: Actually, I'm not terribly worried about this. I mean, one hopes that the Iraqis protect women's social rights as much as possible. It certainly seems clear that in protecting the political rights, there's no discussion of women not having the right to vote. I think it's important to remember that in the year 1900, for example, in the United States, it was a democracy then. In 1900, women did not have the right to vote. If Iraqis could develop a democracy that resembled America in the 1900s, I think we'd all be thrilled. I mean, women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy. We hope they're there. I think they will be there. But I think we need to put this into perspective. (emphasis mine via Echidne)
Can anyone find this guy's contact info? He makes me want to vomit, so I thought I'd mail him some.
Excuse me, but WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!! I'm sorry, I don't even understand how someone could say this out loud without some part of their brain clicking on and realizing they sound like a complete ASSHOLE. All political correctness aside, he has to be kidding! The social rights of half the population of a country are not critical? How can we invade a country only to remove social rights from HALF of the country's population.
Mr. Gerecht seems to think it perfectly reasonable, so I have a proposal. How about we enact legislation here in the US, where everyone flips a coin. Everyone who gets heads, gets the right to make their own decisions, and everyone who gets tails suddenly becomes the ward of their oldest living relative who got heads. And from now on every time a child is born we flip a coin and they become either heads or tails. Heads they get to pick what they study, what they wear, who they marry etc and Tails they can't get a divorce, fight for custody of their children or leave the country without permission, among other things. Sound cool? Because that's what we're talking about here.
How like America to invade a country and then liberate only half of it.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Focus
Due to the fact that my new job involves me doing actual work I wont be able to post my lengthy rants during work hours. This is tragic because it means that I'm going to have to chose between blogging and World of Warcraft. /cries
But never fear, I plan to try to focus my blog more on the topics I actually intended to post about in the beginning, that is use of statistics and science and how it is manipulated by the media and stupid people. The ranting will be saved for the occasional, "God damn both political parties in this country are so fucking stupid" moments.
In honor of my new found focus I have linkmania:
From the Mystery Pollster: 2008 Presidential Polling in 2005: a REALLY Big Grain of Salt He makes a very good case for most of the presidential polling taking place at this point being a huge waste of time. And I couldn't agree more. Polls are not forecasts, all they tell you is who would win if the election were tomorrow, but much to my chagrin it is not. We still have 3 more years of Mr. Bush to deal with first, and who knows what could happen before 2008................. not that I have anything but confidence in our current administration. (Damn I almost typed that without laughing, so close.)
The second has more to do with science, Bill from INDC has pointed out the clear lack of impartialness to Michelle Malkin's evaluation of the RU-486 pills and the related deaths Bill does a good job of comparing statistics:
So, while 1 in 92,000 women have died from RU-486 side effects since the drug's US approval, 1 in 3,700 American women have died in childbirth during the same period, making actually giving birth 25 times more deadly than having a chemical abortion (the article states "10 to 13 times riskier" than having any type of abortion).
This whole controversy really has to do with people's views on abortion, not problems with the drug, lets talk about the real problem people and stop pussyfooting around. YAY Bill!
Also Instapundit linked to a post written just for me: Advice to the angry young blogger Actually he seems to be targetting complete idiots, which I'm not, but I thought the title was funny anyway. Would be nice if there were actual Advice involved, like can anyone tell me how not to get angry all the time? That'd be nice.
That's all I've got for now, time to go do actual work at my amazing new job! (Today my boss told me "Well.... yeah, you're smart, you can figure it out" it was a clear illustration to me of how my career has made a turn for the better.)
But never fear, I plan to try to focus my blog more on the topics I actually intended to post about in the beginning, that is use of statistics and science and how it is manipulated by the media and stupid people. The ranting will be saved for the occasional, "God damn both political parties in this country are so fucking stupid" moments.
In honor of my new found focus I have linkmania:
From the Mystery Pollster: 2008 Presidential Polling in 2005: a REALLY Big Grain of Salt He makes a very good case for most of the presidential polling taking place at this point being a huge waste of time. And I couldn't agree more. Polls are not forecasts, all they tell you is who would win if the election were tomorrow, but much to my chagrin it is not. We still have 3 more years of Mr. Bush to deal with first, and who knows what could happen before 2008................. not that I have anything but confidence in our current administration. (Damn I almost typed that without laughing, so close.)
The second has more to do with science, Bill from INDC has pointed out the clear lack of impartialness to Michelle Malkin's evaluation of the RU-486 pills and the related deaths Bill does a good job of comparing statistics:
So, while 1 in 92,000 women have died from RU-486 side effects since the drug's US approval, 1 in 3,700 American women have died in childbirth during the same period, making actually giving birth 25 times more deadly than having a chemical abortion (the article states "10 to 13 times riskier" than having any type of abortion).
This whole controversy really has to do with people's views on abortion, not problems with the drug, lets talk about the real problem people and stop pussyfooting around. YAY Bill!
Also Instapundit linked to a post written just for me: Advice to the angry young blogger Actually he seems to be targetting complete idiots, which I'm not, but I thought the title was funny anyway. Would be nice if there were actual Advice involved, like can anyone tell me how not to get angry all the time? That'd be nice.
That's all I've got for now, time to go do actual work at my amazing new job! (Today my boss told me "Well.... yeah, you're smart, you can figure it out" it was a clear illustration to me of how my career has made a turn for the better.)
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Moving Sucks: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the U-haul.
Moving to Chicago was just another example of how nothing in my life ever works out the way that it should. Nothing. Ever.
The plan was my sister came in Monday night to help me pack up and move Tuesday morning, and then she was going to fly out of Chicago early on Wednesday. As it is now Thursday you can imagine this did not go as planned.
First I'm a shitty packer, I suck at it. So I was barely packed when she showed up. So it took us most of the night and all of the next morning to load the U-haul. Around 11:30am we were done loading so I went to go drop off some stuff and get some McDonalds before we left on our 8 hour trek.
While I was waiting for my much abused boyfriend to bring food out to the car I smelled smoke. And then I SAW smoke coming from the blinker thingy. (Which I later learned is called a Multi-Function switch)
Le sigh, we returned to my mostly empty apartment and after much deliberation I decided that I would not have my little sister driving a car that could possibly catch fire at any time for 8 hours, much to her chagrin.
So we said goodbye to the poor boyfriend and took my car and my U-haul and dropped the car off at the shop. They had implied on the phone that they could fix it that night, but when I dropped it off they said something to the effect of, so are you going to come back in 2 days and get it? I nearly lost it. But they said they would call after they had looked at it and let me know what the situation was. Great, more waiting.
I should mention that we were also accompanied by 2 very upset cats this entire time. So we took the 2 very upset cats and most of the contents of my Explorer and put them in the U-haul. And then we checked in to our 70's tastic Holiday Inn on the top of a hill with a narrow winding drive (YAY U-HAUL!). The much abused boyfriend was forced to help locate aformentioned hotel among other things. I drove the U-haul around all evening for food and shopping, and it Suuuuuuuucked. Especially since we were on one of those divided highways so we kept having to go one way, turn around, come back the other way over and over. If ever I questioned my desire to leave Pittsburgh before this, the question was answered.
The Mechanics called and said they'd have my car fixed the next morning. We went, waited around a lot and eventually, picked it up, shoved completely distraught cats into carriers and went to get gas. We hop into our respective gas guzzling vehicles and start up. The U-Haul goas VROOOM and the Explorer went Click Click Click. Oh my fucking god. I know many times in your life you have asked yourself if employees of gas stations can jump battery's on cars, I now know the answer to this, No. We had to use the U-haul to jump the Explorer, which was just a leeeeetle silly to say the least.
Finally we were off, and to make my final moments in Pittsburgh resemble my entire life there, I got off on the highway going the wrong way and we had to turn around. 8 hours later we arrived in Chicago without too much major damage. I am now here, I can only find one of my cats, but at this point I'm not that picky.
The plan was my sister came in Monday night to help me pack up and move Tuesday morning, and then she was going to fly out of Chicago early on Wednesday. As it is now Thursday you can imagine this did not go as planned.
First I'm a shitty packer, I suck at it. So I was barely packed when she showed up. So it took us most of the night and all of the next morning to load the U-haul. Around 11:30am we were done loading so I went to go drop off some stuff and get some McDonalds before we left on our 8 hour trek.
While I was waiting for my much abused boyfriend to bring food out to the car I smelled smoke. And then I SAW smoke coming from the blinker thingy. (Which I later learned is called a Multi-Function switch)
Le sigh, we returned to my mostly empty apartment and after much deliberation I decided that I would not have my little sister driving a car that could possibly catch fire at any time for 8 hours, much to her chagrin.
So we said goodbye to the poor boyfriend and took my car and my U-haul and dropped the car off at the shop. They had implied on the phone that they could fix it that night, but when I dropped it off they said something to the effect of, so are you going to come back in 2 days and get it? I nearly lost it. But they said they would call after they had looked at it and let me know what the situation was. Great, more waiting.
I should mention that we were also accompanied by 2 very upset cats this entire time. So we took the 2 very upset cats and most of the contents of my Explorer and put them in the U-haul. And then we checked in to our 70's tastic Holiday Inn on the top of a hill with a narrow winding drive (YAY U-HAUL!). The much abused boyfriend was forced to help locate aformentioned hotel among other things. I drove the U-haul around all evening for food and shopping, and it Suuuuuuuucked. Especially since we were on one of those divided highways so we kept having to go one way, turn around, come back the other way over and over. If ever I questioned my desire to leave Pittsburgh before this, the question was answered.
The Mechanics called and said they'd have my car fixed the next morning. We went, waited around a lot and eventually, picked it up, shoved completely distraught cats into carriers and went to get gas. We hop into our respective gas guzzling vehicles and start up. The U-Haul goas VROOOM and the Explorer went Click Click Click. Oh my fucking god. I know many times in your life you have asked yourself if employees of gas stations can jump battery's on cars, I now know the answer to this, No. We had to use the U-haul to jump the Explorer, which was just a leeeeetle silly to say the least.
Finally we were off, and to make my final moments in Pittsburgh resemble my entire life there, I got off on the highway going the wrong way and we had to turn around. 8 hours later we arrived in Chicago without too much major damage. I am now here, I can only find one of my cats, but at this point I'm not that picky.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Pristine Beauty
I'm back from my cruise to Alaska. I had an amazing time, I'm having trouble getting pictures off of my camera so I haven't finished my cruise blog but I plan to do so soon.Today I found this article about Alaskan drilling CNN.com and I'm a little upset. I've been trying to take a little break from politics because I still haven't figured out how to keep my youthful idealistic outrage from affecting my mental health. But after my amazing trip to Alaska I just can't leave this alone.
Proponents of drilling in the Alaskan Oil Reserves are going to make an end run around environmentalists by including the measure to open up these reserves in a budget bill that cannot be filibustered. Though I understand that some people think the filibuster is an unfair exploitation of procedure, I disagree. Just because the majority of people think something is a good idea does not make them right. (SHOCKING!) And in this instance I think that no measures are too extreme to protect the untouched beauty of Alaska.
There is no way for me to explain in words or in pictures how awe inspiring the wilds of Alaska are. (And I really only got to see the touristy bits) There were gigantic mountains covered in forests completely untouched by man, and the peace as our ship floated through straigts past seemingly endless beauty was almost spiritual. Watching parts of a gigantic glacier crumble into the ocean with sounds like a thunderclap increased my respect for this amazing planet we are lucky enough to live on. I got to see otters, whales, killer whales, bald eagles and sea lions all in one place. And on our way out of Alaska there were dolphins following the ship into the sunset.
It was an amazing trip to say the least. Before the trip I would have said that drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge was obviously a bad idea. Now I think anyone who thinks that drilling in Alaska is a good idea should go there, see the animals, the glaciers, the mountains, and then if they still think it is a good idea they should be "humanely euthanized" because they are clearly idiots.
No amount of money can replace these animals or that amazing untouched wilderness. Once we start drilling there we can't ever take it back. The consequences of our actions will be felt not by humans but by the animals and by the earth. No amout of fuel will ever be able to fix the damage we have already done to this planet, can't we just leave a little bit of it alone?
I am once again disgusted by the selfishness of the human race.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Post 178
Is my last post from my office, my 178th post. Goodbye lame office, goodbye depressing grey cubicle, goodbye neighbor yelling in Turkish, goodbye working for a tobacco company, and best of all Goodbye DUMBASS!
Tomorrow I'm leaving on my cruise, WOOO! You can read all about it on my Cruiseblog which I will hopefully be able to update from the ship with snazzy pictures of glaciers and eagles and hopefully not to many lame tourist photos. We shall see.
Tomorrow I'm leaving on my cruise, WOOO! You can read all about it on my Cruiseblog which I will hopefully be able to update from the ship with snazzy pictures of glaciers and eagles and hopefully not to many lame tourist photos. We shall see.
Friday, July 15, 2005
I QUIT!
I quit my job yesterday. Dumbass was amazingly unsurprised, but as the idea that I was leaving so soon began sinking in he started shaking and his eyes got all wide and scared. He nearly crapped himself when I told him I'd be leaving next Thursday. He has spent the last day or so going back and forth between people trying to figure out what is going on and asking them what he should do. They had to have several hours of tedious meetings to decide if they need to hire someone else, and then another set of meetings to make sure I was going to do work my last week here. WOOOOOOOO And when I told big boss that Dumbass had told me to look for another job he nearly choked on his chewing tobacco.
I'm probably not going to be blogging much in the interim. (Not that I've been doing a bang up job lately at all) But I have tons of crap to do and every spare moment in front of a computer will be spent looking for an apartment, or a subletter. I am hoping to find a cheap sublet for august/september and then get a nicer place. Apartment hunting from 600 miles away is always an extra challenge and August 15 seems awefully soon since i'm spending 10 days in the alaskan wilderness with my family. AH!
I'll be photo-blogging my Alaskan cruise that starts next Saturday, I'll post the link to that when I get it set up, but there wont be much else until mid August. (there go my already pathetic traffic stats)
Thanks to everyone for their support and for listening to me bitch for the past 11 months. I really appreciate it. Hopefully this will be an improvement.
I'm probably not going to be blogging much in the interim. (Not that I've been doing a bang up job lately at all) But I have tons of crap to do and every spare moment in front of a computer will be spent looking for an apartment, or a subletter. I am hoping to find a cheap sublet for august/september and then get a nicer place. Apartment hunting from 600 miles away is always an extra challenge and August 15 seems awefully soon since i'm spending 10 days in the alaskan wilderness with my family. AH!
I'll be photo-blogging my Alaskan cruise that starts next Saturday, I'll post the link to that when I get it set up, but there wont be much else until mid August. (there go my already pathetic traffic stats)
Thanks to everyone for their support and for listening to me bitch for the past 11 months. I really appreciate it. Hopefully this will be an improvement.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Daily Show
Jon Stewart really reamed this guy. I couldn't stop giggling. I think he was a little harsh, but he made a good point. Why bitch about Barbara Streisand when there are people in power who are taking away our rights?
Dumbass v. Ninja: The Final Chapter
I'm moving to Chicago!!!!!! I got a job at a company there and I am set to start next month.
I haven't told Dumbass yet, that's tomorrow, but this is my final coup, basically screwing him over for staff. YAY.
If anyone wants to sublet a cozy apartment in Pittsburgh and or rent me a place in Chicago they should e-mail me.
I haven't told Dumbass yet, that's tomorrow, but this is my final coup, basically screwing him over for staff. YAY.
If anyone wants to sublet a cozy apartment in Pittsburgh and or rent me a place in Chicago they should e-mail me.
Getting High
Kids want to get high. And they are going to find ways to do it.
This article from CNN about the kid who died playing the "passing-out game" is interesting. I personally have very vivid recollections of playing this game with my band. But we certainly didn't call it anything even remotely as lame as the "passing-out game." However I do question this incident because normally hands were the only thing used to play this game. I mean a friend choking you is cool, but hanging yourself, that would be stupid, Duh.
Maybe they should just give the kids some pot instead. (Not to be insensitive to this kid's death, but he was obviously bored.)
Also, how's this for the least surprising test result ever:
You are Marijuana (aka: weed, dope, skunk,
chronic...). You are the most commonly used
drug in the world. You are powerful, stubborn,
moody, have a strong attitude. You are
classified as class (A and B) illegal drugs.
What kind of Drugs are you? and how that reflect your personality?
brought to you by Quizilla
This article from CNN about the kid who died playing the "passing-out game" is interesting. I personally have very vivid recollections of playing this game with my band. But we certainly didn't call it anything even remotely as lame as the "passing-out game." However I do question this incident because normally hands were the only thing used to play this game. I mean a friend choking you is cool, but hanging yourself, that would be stupid, Duh.
Maybe they should just give the kids some pot instead. (Not to be insensitive to this kid's death, but he was obviously bored.)
Also, how's this for the least surprising test result ever:
You are Marijuana (aka: weed, dope, skunk,
chronic...). You are the most commonly used
drug in the world. You are powerful, stubborn,
moody, have a strong attitude. You are
classified as class (A and B) illegal drugs.
What kind of Drugs are you? and how that reflect your personality?
brought to you by Quizilla
Open Source Politics
Still Alive
I'm still around, I was out of town over the weekend on a quest for a non sucky job and things have been busy this week. Hopefully I will have some insights sometime soon. But right now all I have is a desire for sleep.
Okay, this is the least surprising test result EVER.
Okay, this is the least surprising test result EVER.
Friday, July 08, 2005
BE REASONABLE!! the 7/7 edition
JD has posted a very nice post over at Cabal today. We agree again, armageddon will be upon us soon.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Terror Statistics (or Correlation is not Causation)
Here's a post at BTC News about the number of terror incidents reported in recent years. (Via Atrios)
It is an interesting post about the numbers and how they are arrived at. As with all statistics there are many possible data sources and Terrorist Attack has to be defined in certain terms in order to create an accurate picture. There is some debate about how things are defined and depending on how the statistic is defined we get different pictures of the situation. This isn't really surprising and I will leave this whole debate to people who know more about international terrorism than I do.
I would like to point out the final paragraph though under the graph
"The axis labels on this graph are hard to read, but the terrorism rate decerases steadily through Clinton's second term, bottoming out in the year 2000, and then it rises again dramatically. I think this graphis one of the best ilustrations I've seen yet of the difference between what Karl Rove described as the "liberal" and "conservative" approaches to combatting terrorism."
The graph itself shows a steady decline in terrorist attacks until 2000 and then they rise again quickly.
This final paragraph is one of the best illustrations I've seen yet of how not to use statistics. Though some may disagree with me I do not think that the President of the U.S. has that much of an affect on terrorism and this graph is not convincing evidence.
This graph and the conclusions drawn by the writer of this article is a great example of the thing that I must have explained 5 times in every lab I taught during college. Correlation does not imply Causation. Just because two things LOOK related does not mean that they ARE. There are mediating factors, one big one being the economy. It is my humble opinion that a less thriving economic athmosphere in the world could result in larger numbers of unhappy people who think it is a good idea to blow things up. And besides the economic factors there are any number of political and sociological factors that could have contributed to the sudden increase in terrorism. Some of these things may relate to US Foreign Policy and some of them may not.
For liberals to imply that the sudden rise in terrorism during Bush's term in office is because of conservative policies is simply false. Just like it is incorrect for conservatives to imply that the sudden increase is due to the Liberal policy of placating them until they gained enough power to strike hard and fast.
Just because I go to the bathroom everytime I'm in the bathroom doesn't mean that the bathroom causes me to pee. Get it? There are other factors at work here besides who is President. To discover what they are will require a much more detailed analysis of the terrorist activity levels, events leading up to 2000 and who exactly the terrorists are that are committing these acts. And even then we will still be guessing about what caused it.
I'll tell you whose fault it really is, the damned terrorists.
It is an interesting post about the numbers and how they are arrived at. As with all statistics there are many possible data sources and Terrorist Attack has to be defined in certain terms in order to create an accurate picture. There is some debate about how things are defined and depending on how the statistic is defined we get different pictures of the situation. This isn't really surprising and I will leave this whole debate to people who know more about international terrorism than I do.
I would like to point out the final paragraph though under the graph
"The axis labels on this graph are hard to read, but the terrorism rate decerases steadily through Clinton's second term, bottoming out in the year 2000, and then it rises again dramatically. I think this graphis one of the best ilustrations I've seen yet of the difference between what Karl Rove described as the "liberal" and "conservative" approaches to combatting terrorism."
The graph itself shows a steady decline in terrorist attacks until 2000 and then they rise again quickly.
This final paragraph is one of the best illustrations I've seen yet of how not to use statistics. Though some may disagree with me I do not think that the President of the U.S. has that much of an affect on terrorism and this graph is not convincing evidence.
This graph and the conclusions drawn by the writer of this article is a great example of the thing that I must have explained 5 times in every lab I taught during college. Correlation does not imply Causation. Just because two things LOOK related does not mean that they ARE. There are mediating factors, one big one being the economy. It is my humble opinion that a less thriving economic athmosphere in the world could result in larger numbers of unhappy people who think it is a good idea to blow things up. And besides the economic factors there are any number of political and sociological factors that could have contributed to the sudden increase in terrorism. Some of these things may relate to US Foreign Policy and some of them may not.
For liberals to imply that the sudden rise in terrorism during Bush's term in office is because of conservative policies is simply false. Just like it is incorrect for conservatives to imply that the sudden increase is due to the Liberal policy of placating them until they gained enough power to strike hard and fast.
Just because I go to the bathroom everytime I'm in the bathroom doesn't mean that the bathroom causes me to pee. Get it? There are other factors at work here besides who is President. To discover what they are will require a much more detailed analysis of the terrorist activity levels, events leading up to 2000 and who exactly the terrorists are that are committing these acts. And even then we will still be guessing about what caused it.
I'll tell you whose fault it really is, the damned terrorists.
London
Yay Kav's Okay!
I never know what to say when stuff like this happens. Anything I could say just seems so empty. So here is my best shot, don't laugh at me.
We're with you London.
Update: Kav has an excellent plan for the UK in responding to these attacks.
Update: There has been lots of stuff around about the date, and how it will be added to the list of infamous dates. 3.11, 9.11 and now 7.7. I can't help wondering if they intentionally stayed away from 7.11. (NOT that a terrorist attack on any day is okay obviously.)
I never know what to say when stuff like this happens. Anything I could say just seems so empty. So here is my best shot, don't laugh at me.
We're with you London.
Update: Kav has an excellent plan for the UK in responding to these attacks.
Update: There has been lots of stuff around about the date, and how it will be added to the list of infamous dates. 3.11, 9.11 and now 7.7. I can't help wondering if they intentionally stayed away from 7.11. (NOT that a terrorist attack on any day is okay obviously.)
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Screwing Up America
I was reading this interview with the author of 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America. (Via Instapundit) Here's part one and Part two of the interview.
And I found it really interesting how partisan the book seemed to be from the interview. I haven't read it obviously, but the interview is all about how liberalism is hurting America and how liberal values etc. Maybe that is just my perception. This part in particular for some reasons struck me as odd;
LetÂ’s talk about the TV stuff in particular. As I said, this used to be called the Family Hour. Now, itÂ’s one cheap sex joke after another. But if you complain about that, youÂ’re a prude, or youÂ’re a square. You know what? This is why I come down harder on liberals than I do on conservatives, because the Left has decided to look the other way. They donÂ’t want to complain about this, because if they do, now theyÂ’re on the side of the morality police. Oh, they couldnÂ’t possibly want to be on that side.
I find the issue of TV censorship particularly confusing when it comes to political ideology. It seems to me that a TV station is a business, this business is run by showing programs and selling advertising on highly rated programs. So in order for a broadcasting group to be successful people have to chose to watch the shows that are being aired on their channel. It seems to me that this sort of thing will police itself no? No one wants to watch cheap sex jokes, then no one will watch it and the show will go off the air, right? Why should the government get involved in a private industry. And WHY are CONSERVATIVES the ones calling for government involvement in this industry. I thought there was something about fewer regulations on companies or something in their platform.
I dont think this particular issue has as much to do with being morality police as it does freedom of choice. If you don't want to watch crap, then don't watch crap and if no one watches crap then it wont be aired. It is actually that simple. If we have to regulate it though that means there is clearly someone who wants to watch smut on TV, so why not let them rot their brains with idiotic television while you and your kids do something productive. Because that's not nearly as fun as complaining about how liberals have taken over the media and are brainwashing your kids with sex and drugs.
I think that Goldberg is enabling the victim culture in our country by giving a list of 100 scapegoats for things that people in this country don't like. I don't think that the fate of America rests in the hands of 100 or even 1,000 people. (maybe that's my youthful idealism again, how do I turn that off?) Certainly not the 100 people listed in his book.
I don't think this country is screwed up. I think that this country is about freedom. And part of that freedom is the freedom to turn off the TV, turn off the gansta rap and say no. Part of it is also to turn on the TV and buy those rap CDs and smoke cigarettes in public. I think that Americans need to stop blaming other people for their problems and take a little responsibility. If someone is smoking next to you, then move, go to the non smoking bar. If a comedian says something offensive on the TV, then turn it off, don't watch it. If a politician does something you disagree with then vote for someone else. You get the idea.
I am tired of hearing people complain about things that they have the ability to control, like the television set. Industries like television are completely dependant on their consumers. If no one watches their shows they lose money because they can't sell advertising it is that simple. If you don't like it, don't buy it. And I am particularly tired of hearing conservatives blame liberals for the state of our great union when THEY are the ones running the country. It isn't like they need the Liberal's permission for anything at this point, now they are just kicking a guy when he's down.
The people who are really screwing up America aren't the pundits on MSNBC or the slutty girls on the Reality Shows, or even Rush Limbaugh. They are the people who are watching to the idiot pundits, watching the slutty girls and listening to Rush Limbaugh because they are giving power to these people and these industries.
Americans have more opportunities than other race in the world to make something of themselves, to become educated and to exercise power in their government. And the fact that they instead blame the media, or their political opposite for everthing that is wrong is the most screwed up part about america.
In the end America is only Screwing Itself.
And I found it really interesting how partisan the book seemed to be from the interview. I haven't read it obviously, but the interview is all about how liberalism is hurting America and how liberal values etc. Maybe that is just my perception. This part in particular for some reasons struck me as odd;
LetÂ’s talk about the TV stuff in particular. As I said, this used to be called the Family Hour. Now, itÂ’s one cheap sex joke after another. But if you complain about that, youÂ’re a prude, or youÂ’re a square. You know what? This is why I come down harder on liberals than I do on conservatives, because the Left has decided to look the other way. They donÂ’t want to complain about this, because if they do, now theyÂ’re on the side of the morality police. Oh, they couldnÂ’t possibly want to be on that side.
I find the issue of TV censorship particularly confusing when it comes to political ideology. It seems to me that a TV station is a business, this business is run by showing programs and selling advertising on highly rated programs. So in order for a broadcasting group to be successful people have to chose to watch the shows that are being aired on their channel. It seems to me that this sort of thing will police itself no? No one wants to watch cheap sex jokes, then no one will watch it and the show will go off the air, right? Why should the government get involved in a private industry. And WHY are CONSERVATIVES the ones calling for government involvement in this industry. I thought there was something about fewer regulations on companies or something in their platform.
I dont think this particular issue has as much to do with being morality police as it does freedom of choice. If you don't want to watch crap, then don't watch crap and if no one watches crap then it wont be aired. It is actually that simple. If we have to regulate it though that means there is clearly someone who wants to watch smut on TV, so why not let them rot their brains with idiotic television while you and your kids do something productive. Because that's not nearly as fun as complaining about how liberals have taken over the media and are brainwashing your kids with sex and drugs.
I think that Goldberg is enabling the victim culture in our country by giving a list of 100 scapegoats for things that people in this country don't like. I don't think that the fate of America rests in the hands of 100 or even 1,000 people. (maybe that's my youthful idealism again, how do I turn that off?) Certainly not the 100 people listed in his book.
I don't think this country is screwed up. I think that this country is about freedom. And part of that freedom is the freedom to turn off the TV, turn off the gansta rap and say no. Part of it is also to turn on the TV and buy those rap CDs and smoke cigarettes in public. I think that Americans need to stop blaming other people for their problems and take a little responsibility. If someone is smoking next to you, then move, go to the non smoking bar. If a comedian says something offensive on the TV, then turn it off, don't watch it. If a politician does something you disagree with then vote for someone else. You get the idea.
I am tired of hearing people complain about things that they have the ability to control, like the television set. Industries like television are completely dependant on their consumers. If no one watches their shows they lose money because they can't sell advertising it is that simple. If you don't like it, don't buy it. And I am particularly tired of hearing conservatives blame liberals for the state of our great union when THEY are the ones running the country. It isn't like they need the Liberal's permission for anything at this point, now they are just kicking a guy when he's down.
The people who are really screwing up America aren't the pundits on MSNBC or the slutty girls on the Reality Shows, or even Rush Limbaugh. They are the people who are watching to the idiot pundits, watching the slutty girls and listening to Rush Limbaugh because they are giving power to these people and these industries.
Americans have more opportunities than other race in the world to make something of themselves, to become educated and to exercise power in their government. And the fact that they instead blame the media, or their political opposite for everthing that is wrong is the most screwed up part about america.
In the end America is only Screwing Itself.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Ohhh!
So thats why I never get invited out anymore:
On the other hand, if no-one comes to your parties, and people don't want you at theirs, you might think a bit about the reason why: Might you not be using enough deodorant? Might people be alienated by your rhetoric, and as a result miss your substance? If they think you're a crank, might you actually be a crank, or at least someone who doesn't take the trouble to avoid seeming like a crank?
On the other hand, if no-one comes to your parties, and people don't want you at theirs, you might think a bit about the reason why: Might you not be using enough deodorant? Might people be alienated by your rhetoric, and as a result miss your substance? If they think you're a crank, might you actually be a crank, or at least someone who doesn't take the trouble to avoid seeming like a crank?
Monday, July 04, 2005
Jully 4th
Happy Fireworks!!
In honor of this year's Independance day I would like to declare indepenance from my blog and the opening of my Online Magazine (published via the blogger internet publishing tool of course, but not a blog). It seems to be the new trend these days.
In honor of this year's Independance day I would like to declare indepenance from my blog and the opening of my Online Magazine (published via the blogger internet publishing tool of course, but not a blog). It seems to be the new trend these days.
Friday, July 01, 2005
..........
Justice O'Connor has announced her retirement. (In case you've been sleeping all day.)
I've tried to be filled with hysteria and anxiety like everyone says good liberals should be doing. I don't really have the energy right now for hysteria. It would be like beating against a brick wall with my bare hands at this point.
I've also tried cautious optimism. While Bush and I agree on probably 0 things I thought maybe, just maybe he will pick someone good. That'd be great. I mean what a good time this would be for him to not fuck things up. It's not like the SC has been doing a bang up job lately anyway. I mean maybe he'll appoint someone who will be an actual improvement.
And then I thought about a lot of the things he's done recently. Like the great news we're getting from Afghanistan, a country barely registering in our country's memory. Or the constant squabbling over the Mess-O-Potamia. In fact it seems like we can't even appoint an ambassador to the UN without experiencing incompetence in some form or another.
And so now I have nothing left but Despair. Some Democrats are goign to make idiots out of themselves. Some republicans are going to be smug and laugh at the Democrats. And I'm going to sit here and wait for Bush to flush. This is so depressing.
I've tried to be filled with hysteria and anxiety like everyone says good liberals should be doing. I don't really have the energy right now for hysteria. It would be like beating against a brick wall with my bare hands at this point.
I've also tried cautious optimism. While Bush and I agree on probably 0 things I thought maybe, just maybe he will pick someone good. That'd be great. I mean what a good time this would be for him to not fuck things up. It's not like the SC has been doing a bang up job lately anyway. I mean maybe he'll appoint someone who will be an actual improvement.
And then I thought about a lot of the things he's done recently. Like the great news we're getting from Afghanistan, a country barely registering in our country's memory. Or the constant squabbling over the Mess-O-Potamia. In fact it seems like we can't even appoint an ambassador to the UN without experiencing incompetence in some form or another.
And so now I have nothing left but Despair. Some Democrats are goign to make idiots out of themselves. Some republicans are going to be smug and laugh at the Democrats. And I'm going to sit here and wait for Bush to flush. This is so depressing.
Dumbass v. #Ninja: Stirrings of Revolution
The revolution is beginning.
After two months of employing a divide and conquor strategy on his lowly minions Dumbass's dumbassness has come fully to light. While communicating to all three of his minions individualy Dumbass has forgotten 2 important things. The first one is that we are all working on his preformance review right now and he has pissed every single one of us off this week. The second thing is that women talk about everything. Apparently because of his disdain for these pathetic creatures he never bothered to learn that what you say to one woman invariably gets repeated to at least one other. And that when three of them work in close quarters it is unlikely that anything you say to one will remain said only to that one.
His incompetence lead him to keep my friend Turkishlady in the dark about the actual structure of the project after her return from maternity leave. He neglected to inform her that the responsibility for almost the entirety of the project now rested in the hands of CoolGirl (who is pregnant and is only here for another 4 months before she goes on maternity leave). This would be great for all concerned except that TurkishLady had been promised similar responsibility before she went on her maternity leave. And his inability to actually inform her of the current state of affairs has created a small problem.
Meanwhile he told CoolGirl that she needed to be "managing" us more. That is, taking e-mails we are already getting, forwarding them to us and telling us what to do with them, even though we already know perfectly well what to do. CoolGirl told him that this was micro-managing and that this was why I had blown up at him 2 months ago. He said that it wasn't why. Lord knows why else he would think that this #Ninja would unleash her fury upon him, but I'm sure it is something patronizing and wrong. He also told CoolGirl that TurkishLady and I had come to him with "complaints" about her management style. This is an out and out LIE. I most certainly NEVER said anything about CoolGirl to him. If I had a problem with CoolGirl I would more likely send her a note via homing pigeon than tell Dumbass about it.
After a conference today we are finally a united front against the tyranny and incompetance that is our boss. After the weekend there is a plan to speak to his supervisor about the ongoing problems. I predict that the shit will hit the fan. Should be fun.
Meanwhile I will be working on his preformance review.
After two months of employing a divide and conquor strategy on his lowly minions Dumbass's dumbassness has come fully to light. While communicating to all three of his minions individualy Dumbass has forgotten 2 important things. The first one is that we are all working on his preformance review right now and he has pissed every single one of us off this week. The second thing is that women talk about everything. Apparently because of his disdain for these pathetic creatures he never bothered to learn that what you say to one woman invariably gets repeated to at least one other. And that when three of them work in close quarters it is unlikely that anything you say to one will remain said only to that one.
His incompetence lead him to keep my friend Turkishlady in the dark about the actual structure of the project after her return from maternity leave. He neglected to inform her that the responsibility for almost the entirety of the project now rested in the hands of CoolGirl (who is pregnant and is only here for another 4 months before she goes on maternity leave). This would be great for all concerned except that TurkishLady had been promised similar responsibility before she went on her maternity leave. And his inability to actually inform her of the current state of affairs has created a small problem.
Meanwhile he told CoolGirl that she needed to be "managing" us more. That is, taking e-mails we are already getting, forwarding them to us and telling us what to do with them, even though we already know perfectly well what to do. CoolGirl told him that this was micro-managing and that this was why I had blown up at him 2 months ago. He said that it wasn't why. Lord knows why else he would think that this #Ninja would unleash her fury upon him, but I'm sure it is something patronizing and wrong. He also told CoolGirl that TurkishLady and I had come to him with "complaints" about her management style. This is an out and out LIE. I most certainly NEVER said anything about CoolGirl to him. If I had a problem with CoolGirl I would more likely send her a note via homing pigeon than tell Dumbass about it.
After a conference today we are finally a united front against the tyranny and incompetance that is our boss. After the weekend there is a plan to speak to his supervisor about the ongoing problems. I predict that the shit will hit the fan. Should be fun.
Meanwhile I will be working on his preformance review.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Deathmatch: Social Conservatism v. Feminism
The definition of a Social Conservative has always been fairly clear in my mind. My personal definition of a Social Conservative is very easily expressed: Asshole. Perhaps this is judgemental of me, but I am not going to stop people from wanting to live permanantly in the 1950s, I'm just not going to hang out with these people. That's okay, this is America.
Today The Fair Goddess Echidne examines Social Conservativism in a much more complete manner[emphasis mine]:
Note the argument that social conservatives want to have laws which reinforce their beliefs and the argument that they don't have to resort to them. Note that social conservatism is whatever is regarded as traditional in a locality. Thus, bin Laden is a social conservative and so is Jerry Falwell. But this also makes the definition empty of practical meaning. What would be traditional in the United States is not traditional in Iran, and even within, say, the United States what is defined as "traditional" seems to vary by the speaker or writer. If the second wave of feminism took place thirty years ago, isn't the idea of gender equality traditional by now? And why does bin Laden have to dig back a thousand years to get at something he regards as traditional? More generally, a cursory study of history shows all sorts of egalitarian values to have existed at various places and at various times. Why are these not traditional? Why is the right to an abortion not part of social conservatism, given that it was only in the last two hundred years the church turned against the idea of early abortions being acceptable?
In short, social conservatism is not really conservative. It can be quite radical as the bin Laden example demonstrated. What it always seems to be is hierarchical. The view of the family social conservatives embrace has a father as its boss. The religious organizations are seen as determining how the masses live. The government is worshipped as an authoritarian power. And all these hierarchies use some sort of fixed identifiers: sex, race, age, for deciding who will be on top of the pile and who will support the whole pyramid.
Here is the link to feminism. Social conservative pyramids require that women have pre-ordained roles centered around fertility and the service of the home. Anything less is seen as causing chaos, and chaos is what social conservatives fear (unless it's caused by their own radical moves to return the world to some utopian era). Women can't have equal participation in politics and in the public sphere in general because who would then take care of the children? Someone else would have to pick up the slack and as these tasks are arranged at the bottom of the power pyramid this someone else would suffer a drop in power and social esteem.
Some of this may be a little out of context so the whole article is worth a read if you are interested. But I find especially interesting the link to feminism and I really think she is spot on. It is all about maintaining some kind of hierarchy so that life makes sense for the people on top. I personally think that the whole point of christianity before the 20th century was to distract the working poor (from serfs to factory workers) from how crappy their lives were by scaring them with damnation and promising a reward for good behavior. And that would fit right in with the whole Social Conservative schema.
Though it is hard for me to figure out why women or minorities buy into it, just like why would a woman go along with being a Mormon? Personally I find the idea of being bound for eternity to a man without whom I can never go to heaven kindof offensive, but y'know that might be because of the feminist brainwashing.
What Feminist Brainwashing? Ohhhh the kind women get at shelters for abused women. Didn't you know? They take them in and strap them in chairs and brainwash them into thinking that they are equal with men and that they should be able to live their lives and make their own choices without having the shit beat out of them. It's evil I tell you, Evil. Ilyka got a letter from a someone against the Violence against women act because "she" claimed:
Those women who accept aid are presented with a “solution” that requires divorce, and immediate application for various welfare programs. Clients and their children are indoctrinated with feminist ideology, which places blame for the problem entirely on patriarchal men, and presumes women are always victims in need of outside guidance.
Maybe that's because these women ARE the victims of "patriarchal men". I was reading the site it linked to and I nearly climbed through the computer and started abusing a woman myself, then "she" would have been the victim of a brainwashed feminist. (Theoretically the person who publishes this abomination is a woman, but this is the internet and I find that hard to believe especially after the whole Libertarian Girl fiasco. )
Anyway, while I'm sure that like all government things in this country the VAWA is fucked up, that doesn't mean it needs to go away. That means that we should push for reform, and for the acknoledgement that men get abused to. But women get abused more often and why is that? Oh it's because they are bitches who don't know to shut up when they are told? Right?
Today The Fair Goddess Echidne examines Social Conservativism in a much more complete manner[emphasis mine]:
Note the argument that social conservatives want to have laws which reinforce their beliefs and the argument that they don't have to resort to them. Note that social conservatism is whatever is regarded as traditional in a locality. Thus, bin Laden is a social conservative and so is Jerry Falwell. But this also makes the definition empty of practical meaning. What would be traditional in the United States is not traditional in Iran, and even within, say, the United States what is defined as "traditional" seems to vary by the speaker or writer. If the second wave of feminism took place thirty years ago, isn't the idea of gender equality traditional by now? And why does bin Laden have to dig back a thousand years to get at something he regards as traditional? More generally, a cursory study of history shows all sorts of egalitarian values to have existed at various places and at various times. Why are these not traditional? Why is the right to an abortion not part of social conservatism, given that it was only in the last two hundred years the church turned against the idea of early abortions being acceptable?
In short, social conservatism is not really conservative. It can be quite radical as the bin Laden example demonstrated. What it always seems to be is hierarchical. The view of the family social conservatives embrace has a father as its boss. The religious organizations are seen as determining how the masses live. The government is worshipped as an authoritarian power. And all these hierarchies use some sort of fixed identifiers: sex, race, age, for deciding who will be on top of the pile and who will support the whole pyramid.
Here is the link to feminism. Social conservative pyramids require that women have pre-ordained roles centered around fertility and the service of the home. Anything less is seen as causing chaos, and chaos is what social conservatives fear (unless it's caused by their own radical moves to return the world to some utopian era). Women can't have equal participation in politics and in the public sphere in general because who would then take care of the children? Someone else would have to pick up the slack and as these tasks are arranged at the bottom of the power pyramid this someone else would suffer a drop in power and social esteem.
Some of this may be a little out of context so the whole article is worth a read if you are interested. But I find especially interesting the link to feminism and I really think she is spot on. It is all about maintaining some kind of hierarchy so that life makes sense for the people on top. I personally think that the whole point of christianity before the 20th century was to distract the working poor (from serfs to factory workers) from how crappy their lives were by scaring them with damnation and promising a reward for good behavior. And that would fit right in with the whole Social Conservative schema.
Though it is hard for me to figure out why women or minorities buy into it, just like why would a woman go along with being a Mormon? Personally I find the idea of being bound for eternity to a man without whom I can never go to heaven kindof offensive, but y'know that might be because of the feminist brainwashing.
What Feminist Brainwashing? Ohhhh the kind women get at shelters for abused women. Didn't you know? They take them in and strap them in chairs and brainwash them into thinking that they are equal with men and that they should be able to live their lives and make their own choices without having the shit beat out of them. It's evil I tell you, Evil. Ilyka got a letter from a someone against the Violence against women act because "she" claimed:
Those women who accept aid are presented with a “solution” that requires divorce, and immediate application for various welfare programs. Clients and their children are indoctrinated with feminist ideology, which places blame for the problem entirely on patriarchal men, and presumes women are always victims in need of outside guidance.
Maybe that's because these women ARE the victims of "patriarchal men". I was reading the site it linked to and I nearly climbed through the computer and started abusing a woman myself, then "she" would have been the victim of a brainwashed feminist. (Theoretically the person who publishes this abomination is a woman, but this is the internet and I find that hard to believe especially after the whole Libertarian Girl fiasco. )
Anyway, while I'm sure that like all government things in this country the VAWA is fucked up, that doesn't mean it needs to go away. That means that we should push for reform, and for the acknoledgement that men get abused to. But women get abused more often and why is that? Oh it's because they are bitches who don't know to shut up when they are told? Right?
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Lazy
I am completely unable to have enough energy to be interesting today. duuuuuuur
So here are some intereting other people to fill the void left by my silence:
Moon over pittsburgh comes through again today with a great post on the possible purchase of the Nationals by George Soros
PublicBrewery and DalyThoughts have a vulcan Mind Meld over the CNN/Gallup Overnight Poll re: GWB's speech. To sum up: No
And I don't know how you could possibly have missed this awesome Revenge against the Supreme Court for the Kelo Decision. But it makes me giggle so much that I have to link it.
And also YAY for Canada and Gay Marriage!
I think that's all the non-original thought I can come up with right now. Now I will go forth and attempt to rid myself of haloscan comments. Wish me luck.
So here are some intereting other people to fill the void left by my silence:
Moon over pittsburgh comes through again today with a great post on the possible purchase of the Nationals by George Soros
PublicBrewery and DalyThoughts have a vulcan Mind Meld over the CNN/Gallup Overnight Poll re: GWB's speech. To sum up: No
And I don't know how you could possibly have missed this awesome Revenge against the Supreme Court for the Kelo Decision. But it makes me giggle so much that I have to link it.
And also YAY for Canada and Gay Marriage!
I think that's all the non-original thought I can come up with right now. Now I will go forth and attempt to rid myself of haloscan comments. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Postlessness
Sorry I havent posted today. I'm having some weird health issues and spent most of the day trying to figure out my health plan. Such a news filled day. More tomorrow and look out for a future installment of Dumbass v. #Ninja.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Anti-American
For some reason I keep running across this concept today. Here with regards to the proposed Freedom Tower and here with regards to the media.
What makes something Anti-American? It seems to me to be a very subjective measurement. I know that there are people out there who are truly anti-American, like Osama Bin Laden, and sometimes I wonder about Jaques Chirac.
For Terrorists I think their hatred of America is founded in jealousy, in a need for something to fight against in order to make their lives less miserable. These people are truly Anti-American because their hate is not based on rational thought but on a need for something to hate in order to ease the misery of their existance.
But to say that the press, or proposed displays at the freedom tower are Anti-American brings up a whole new dimension. If something reflects negatively on America, does that make it treasonous, or simply factual?
I loved history in highschool but when I got to college I found out reams of information that had never crossed my page before. Things like how Christopher Columbus who has his own holiday murdered and enslaved native peoples, and how Lyndon Johnson's explaination for the Vietnam war was to whip out his dick. These things do not reflect positively on America and they make me sad. But they also provide motivation to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated. If Americans cannot look at our history and see the flaws in it and then move forward and strive to save ourselves from making the same mistakes, then we cannot survive as a country.
I love America, I really do, but does that mean I should ignore all of the horrible things that Americans have done/are doing/will do? I think that maybe in America we've confused the ideas of Like and Love. If you like something you have positive feelings about it and are generally happy. But if you love something you have to be willing to accept it as it is, acknowledge its flaws and push it to become better. Love Hurts, but it is certainly not Anti-Anything.
What makes something Anti-American? It seems to me to be a very subjective measurement. I know that there are people out there who are truly anti-American, like Osama Bin Laden, and sometimes I wonder about Jaques Chirac.
For Terrorists I think their hatred of America is founded in jealousy, in a need for something to fight against in order to make their lives less miserable. These people are truly Anti-American because their hate is not based on rational thought but on a need for something to hate in order to ease the misery of their existance.
But to say that the press, or proposed displays at the freedom tower are Anti-American brings up a whole new dimension. If something reflects negatively on America, does that make it treasonous, or simply factual?
I loved history in highschool but when I got to college I found out reams of information that had never crossed my page before. Things like how Christopher Columbus who has his own holiday murdered and enslaved native peoples, and how Lyndon Johnson's explaination for the Vietnam war was to whip out his dick. These things do not reflect positively on America and they make me sad. But they also provide motivation to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated. If Americans cannot look at our history and see the flaws in it and then move forward and strive to save ourselves from making the same mistakes, then we cannot survive as a country.
I love America, I really do, but does that mean I should ignore all of the horrible things that Americans have done/are doing/will do? I think that maybe in America we've confused the ideas of Like and Love. If you like something you have positive feelings about it and are generally happy. But if you love something you have to be willing to accept it as it is, acknowledge its flaws and push it to become better. Love Hurts, but it is certainly not Anti-Anything.
Rove Lied
Or maybe he was just wrong. But the Mystery Pollster takes some old poll results from right after 9/11 and points out that both Democrats AND Liberals wanted to go to war. Perhaps not quite as much as republicans did, but the majority certainly wasn't dragging its feet. So Rove's assertion that liberals wanted to give the terrorists therapy is not only offenssive but factually incorrect.
Surprise.
"Wrong? What did I tell you about talking back to me!"
Surprise.
"Wrong? What did I tell you about talking back to me!"
Friday, June 24, 2005
Cheap Lines
The events of this week seem to have stirred up something among the Americans who are still actually paying attention to what the government does. Some People have taken the remarks of Dick Durbin and the similar remarks of Karl Rove and used them to attack the other side. Fortunately many others have recognized them for what they are; Rhetoric.
Karl Rove took the time to educate us on what the Republicans "stand for" (from Balloon-Juice)
Conservatives believe in lower taxes; liberals believe in higher taxes. We want few regulations; they want more. Conservatives measure the effectiveness of government programs by results; liberals measure the effectiveness of government programs by inputs. We believe in curbing the size of government; they believe in expanding the size of government. Conservatives believe in making America a less litigious society; liberals believe in making America a more litigious society. We believe in accountability and parental choice in education; they don't. Conservatives believe in advancing what Pope John Paul II called a "culture of life"; liberals believe there is an absolute unlimited right to abortion.
Karl Rove took the time to educate us on what the Republicans "stand for" (from Balloon-Juice)
Conservatives believe in lower taxes; liberals believe in higher taxes. We want few regulations; they want more. Conservatives measure the effectiveness of government programs by results; liberals measure the effectiveness of government programs by inputs. We believe in curbing the size of government; they believe in expanding the size of government. Conservatives believe in making America a less litigious society; liberals believe in making America a more litigious society. We believe in accountability and parental choice in education; they don't. Conservatives believe in advancing what Pope John Paul II called a "culture of life"; liberals believe there is an absolute unlimited right to abortion.
It is one thing to believe something and something else entirely to actually do it. I've been a girl long enough know to recognize cheap lines when I hear them, and those are some cheap lines Karl, this is what I am hearing;
"America, honey, you know I love you, you know I would never do anything to hurt you. I know your girlfriends think you should leave me because of what I did to you when we were in Guantanamo. But you know I love you and I promised I wont do it again, remember you were angry too. Your friends are trying to poison us. Deficit? Honey I know I told you I'd fix the deficit, but I've been so busy with the War on Terror. I'll fix it next weekend okay? Bin Laden! Honey I told you not to worry about that. Now I've got a surprise for you remember how I told you we were gonna go on Social Security Reform last January? Well how about we plan on doing that in August okay, it'll be great, just you and me and our private accounts. Now come on sweety......let's go to bed...........we can work on our Culture of Life."
Unfortunately the reason there is still so much domestic abuse in the world is because not all people can recognize a load of bull when they hear one.
Blogging Nekkid Day!
Happy Blogging Naked Day.
You should go over to Lone Tree on the Prarie and check out the list of other naked bloggers. I'm at work, so I shall have to save my naked blogging for later in the evening. (Although I guess that WOULD be an interesting way to quit, hmmm).
And when you're done with that go Here and Vote for the Hottest US Senator (not counting Obama) There are only four left in the running: Robert Byrd D-W.VA, Chuck Hagel R-Neb, Evan Bayh D-Ind, and Joe Biden D-Del. Which one is your hottie?
You should go over to Lone Tree on the Prarie and check out the list of other naked bloggers. I'm at work, so I shall have to save my naked blogging for later in the evening. (Although I guess that WOULD be an interesting way to quit, hmmm).
And when you're done with that go Here and Vote for the Hottest US Senator (not counting Obama) There are only four left in the running: Robert Byrd D-W.VA, Chuck Hagel R-Neb, Evan Bayh D-Ind, and Joe Biden D-Del. Which one is your hottie?
Thursday, June 23, 2005
A Cure!!!
At last, a cure has been found for those suffering from the affliction commonly known as THE GAY!
And the cure is? God or some crap.
Riiiight. Maybe the Christians should spend less time curing the gay and more time curing things like aids, poverty and cancer. Just a thought.
So here are my thoughts. I know you're just dying to hear them. Being heterosexual or Homosexual (or inbetween which applies to some of us) has a lot to do with who you love. Gay people happen to love people who are of the same gender, and enjoy having sex with said people. Straight people tend to fall in love with members of the opposite sex and likewise enjoy making babies together. So it really has a lot to do with who you fall into love (or lust) with, and less to do with evil, sinfullness and other stuff that seems to end up getting talked about.
Some might say that I'm oversimplifying the whole sexual identity issue, but I think that the reason it has become complicated is because we made an issue out of it in the first place.
I don't like this Christian conference because I think that it probably in some ways capitalizes on shame or guilt that is frequently felt by homosexuals. Some gay people struggle with their identity for a long time before acknowledging it, and even then they can feel large amounts of shame because society says their is something "wrong" with them. They can use that shame to make themselves live lives with people they do not love as so many people have done in the past, or they can pursue a dream of a happy fulfilling relationship.
I hope that the people involved in this conference can find someone they love of either gender and be happy with them, because in the end lables like Gay, Ex-Gay or Straight aren't what matter. What matters is being happy while we can.
A rare moment of spirituality: God has given us the gifts of love, and in my opinion it would be a sin to throw away his gift of love for another person just because that person happend to be of the wrong gender.
Too.... much ....sentimentality....... must .......... Kill.......... Things.
And the cure is? God or some crap.
Riiiight. Maybe the Christians should spend less time curing the gay and more time curing things like aids, poverty and cancer. Just a thought.
So here are my thoughts. I know you're just dying to hear them. Being heterosexual or Homosexual (or inbetween which applies to some of us) has a lot to do with who you love. Gay people happen to love people who are of the same gender, and enjoy having sex with said people. Straight people tend to fall in love with members of the opposite sex and likewise enjoy making babies together. So it really has a lot to do with who you fall into love (or lust) with, and less to do with evil, sinfullness and other stuff that seems to end up getting talked about.
Some might say that I'm oversimplifying the whole sexual identity issue, but I think that the reason it has become complicated is because we made an issue out of it in the first place.
I don't like this Christian conference because I think that it probably in some ways capitalizes on shame or guilt that is frequently felt by homosexuals. Some gay people struggle with their identity for a long time before acknowledging it, and even then they can feel large amounts of shame because society says their is something "wrong" with them. They can use that shame to make themselves live lives with people they do not love as so many people have done in the past, or they can pursue a dream of a happy fulfilling relationship.
I hope that the people involved in this conference can find someone they love of either gender and be happy with them, because in the end lables like Gay, Ex-Gay or Straight aren't what matter. What matters is being happy while we can.
A rare moment of spirituality: God has given us the gifts of love, and in my opinion it would be a sin to throw away his gift of love for another person just because that person happend to be of the wrong gender.
Too.... much ....sentimentality....... must .......... Kill.......... Things.
Time wasting
Apparently this quiz thinks I have some kind of problem;
::grumblegrumble:: *gnaw on Robitussin bottle*
What pisses you off?
Created by ptocheia
::grumblegrumble:: *gnaw on Robitussin bottle*
What pisses you off?
Created by ptocheia
You IDIOT!
I was going to post on the lost Cub Scout, but Moon has a peice that is probably much better written than mine would have been, entitled One Lost Cub Scout and the Death of Critical Thought.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Co-ed Naked Blogging
Bloggers do it on their desks.
Blogging Nekkid Day this Friday, I'll be joining in before or after work, or both if you're lucky. You should too!!
Blogging Nekkid Day this Friday, I'll be joining in before or after work, or both if you're lucky. You should too!!
The O'Reilly Fucktard
Speaking of Inconsequential Rhetoric, How's this for fair and balanced? Bill O'Reilly had some choice bits: (Via Atrios)
O'REILLY: And when he [Durbin] went out there, his intent was to whip up the American public against the Bush detainee policy. That's what his intent was. His intent wasn't to undermine the war effort, because he never even thought about it. He never even thought about it. But by not thinking about it, he made an egregious mistake because you must know the difference between dissent from the Iraq war and the war on terror and undermining it. And any American that undermines that war, with our soldiers in the field, or undermines the war on terror, with 3,000 dead on 9-11, is a traitor.
Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you're a traitor. Got it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just put them in chains, because they, you know, they're undermining everything and they don't care, couldn't care less.
Is anyone else confused?? What I want to know is how Billy differentiates between undermining and dissenting, cause I certainly wouldn't want to be arrested as a traitor. Actually if disagreeing with the war meant that I was a traitor I WOULD want to be arrested. Maybe they'll deport me!
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