Slashdot Mirror

"Notice the Democratic party cast a hell of alot of no votes on the bill. Also note that there were members of the Democratic party serving them that had been in the KKK. I'm not saying the Republican party is squeaky clean either, just saying they take most of the blame when they really shouldn't be."

Your a little confused friend, you are supporting my case not refuting it. Those are mostly the segregationist Southern Democrats voting against it. They and their white constituents are the ones who jumped to the Republican party as fallout of the civil rights act and swung the South from the D column to the R column. The Republican's welcomed them with open arms and they are still a critical part of their power base.

If you will recall why Trent Lott was removed as Senate majority leader it was because he made the mistake of openly praising a segregationist Democrat, Strom Thurmond for running on a segregationist ticket after Truman desegregated the army, and doing it when a video camera was running. Here read this.
It been something of an open secret that Southern Republican luminaries Trent Lott, Halley Barbour, Bob Barr in particular have ties to the Council of Conservative Citizens a descendent of Thurmond's white supremecists.

What, exactly, is "The WeeWee of Triumph", and when shall we see it next?

Reprinted completely without permission from The Holland Sentinel. Story available here [thehollandsentinel.net].

The days are few, the shoppers many at mall Local shoppers were out in force Sunday, but the atmosphere was still friendly
Last modified at 4:36 a.m. on Monday, December 21, 1998
By JOHN SPYKERMAN
Staff writer

Ron Nelson had a feeling that holiday shopping would be more laid back in Holland than back home in Grand Rapids.

Faced with the last weekend of shopping before Christmas, he packed his nephew and two sons into the car and made the 30-minute drive to Westshore Mall. What he found was a crowded but relatively relaxed shopping environment, and a chance for the kids to visit Santa Claus.

"Yeah, we took a chance," Nelson said before meeting his nephew Deontay, 5, and sons Demetrius, 5, and Chris, 2, as they finished their visit with Santa. "I knew (the mall) was opening up at 12, so we gave it a couple hours and headed on over."

Plenty of other people headed on over Sunday to Westshore Mall and other shopping centers, which were abuzz the last weekend before Christmas, even though the opposition of many Holland residents to shopping on the Sabbath kept Sunday's crowds smaller than Saturday's.

"It's pretty hectic," said Joe Barends, an assistant store manager at the Holland Target. "Normally in Holland on Sundays it's a bit slower -- you tend to let your guard down."

Retailers across the country have complained that warm weather got the holiday shopping season off to a slow start, severely dampening sales of such Christmas staples as coats and sweaters. While the temperature has turned cold, some shoppers said Sunday it's still hard to get into the Christmas spirit given the weather.

Sally Laseur from Fennville said it's been a little hard to decorate this year with the lack of snow. Still, she said, it couldn't be Christmas without that last-minute rush for presents.

"It's kind of hectic here," she said, trying to keep her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, and friend, Tyler Diaz, from wandering off into the swarm of shoppers bustling through Westshore Mall. "Trying to get a stroller was bad -- they're completely gone."

Target's Barends said that sales have been very good for his store for the most part.

"We've sold a lot of toys, a lot of electronics," he said. "Clothing is a little down. Jackets and flannels have been a little slow, but sweats are selling like crazy."

With Christmas a heartbeat away, retailers are counting on many shoppers who still have much of their gift-buying left to do. Last year, the three biggest shopping days of the year in terms of sales were Dec. 20, Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York-based trade group.

Knowing that the last week of the season is so crucial, almost every national retailer stepped up their promotions over the weekend. The biggest markdowns came in apparel, with merchants eager to unload some of the clothes that have sat on shelves for weeks during the warm spell.

Kathleen Fent from Holland tried to take advantage of one of those sales Saturday and put the holiday shopping season behind her. Unfortunately, a too-small sweater sent her back to the mall for one last visit on Sunday.

No fan of holiday crowds, Fent was looking to get in and out as quickly as possible Sunday afternoon, even if crowds were somewhat smaller than Saturday's masses.

"Yesterday it was like I was going to go postal," she said. "Today, I want to leave now. I hate screaming kids."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Copyright 1998. The Holland Sentinel.

Reprinted completely without permission from The Holland Sentinel. Story available here.

The days are few, the shoppers many at mall Local shoppers were out in force Sunday, but the atmosphere was still friendly
Last modified at 4:36 a.m. on Monday, December 21, 1998
By JOHN SPYKERMAN
Staff writer

Ron Nelson had a feeling that holiday shopping would be more laid back in Holland than back home in Grand Rapids.

Faced with the last weekend of shopping before Christmas, he packed his nephew and two sons into the car and made the 30-minute drive to Westshore Mall. What he found was a crowded but relatively relaxed shopping environment, and a chance for the kids to visit Santa Claus.

"Yeah, we took a chance," Nelson said before meeting his nephew Deontay, 5, and sons Demetrius, 5, and Chris, 2, as they finished their visit with Santa. "I knew (the mall) was opening up at 12, so we gave it a couple hours and headed on over."

Plenty of other people headed on over Sunday to Westshore Mall and other shopping centers, which were abuzz the last weekend before Christmas, even though the opposition of many Holland residents to shopping on the Sabbath kept Sunday's crowds smaller than Saturday's.

"It's pretty hectic," said Joe Barends, an assistant store manager at the Holland Target. "Normally in Holland on Sundays it's a bit slower -- you tend to let your guard down."

Retailers across the country have complained that warm weather got the holiday shopping season off to a slow start, severely dampening sales of such Christmas staples as coats and sweaters. While the temperature has turned cold, some shoppers said Sunday it's still hard to get into the Christmas spirit given the weather.

Sally Laseur from Fennville said it's been a little hard to decorate this year with the lack of snow. Still, she said, it couldn't be Christmas without that last-minute rush for presents.

"It's kind of hectic here," she said, trying to keep her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, and friend, Tyler Diaz, from wandering off into the swarm of shoppers bustling through Westshore Mall. "Trying to get a stroller was bad -- they're completely gone."

Target's Barends said that sales have been very good for his store for the most part.

"We've sold a lot of toys, a lot of electronics," he said. "Clothing is a little down. Jackets and flannels have been a little slow, but sweats are selling like crazy."

With Christmas a heartbeat away, retailers are counting on many shoppers who still have much of their gift-buying left to do. Last year, the three biggest shopping days of the year in terms of sales were Dec. 20, Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York-based trade group.

Knowing that the last week of the season is so crucial, almost every national retailer stepped up their promotions over the weekend. The biggest markdowns came in apparel, with merchants eager to unload some of the clothes that have sat on shelves for weeks during the warm spell.

Kathleen Fent from Holland tried to take advantage of one of those sales Saturday and put the holiday shopping season behind her. Unfortunately, a too-small sweater sent her back to the mall for one last visit on Sunday.

No fan of holiday crowds, Fent was looking to get in and out as quickly as possible Sunday afternoon, even if crowds were somewhat smaller than Saturday's masses.

"Yesterday it was like I was going to go postal," she said. "Today, I want to leave now. I hate screaming kids."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Copyright 1998. The Holland Sentinel.

"I hate screaming kids."

Well, that was 1998, maybe that has changed by now.

Congrats from me as well!

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick of sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everybody on Plastic.com

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick of sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everybody on Plastic.com

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick of sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everybody on Geekizoid

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick of sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everybody on Geekizoid

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick of sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everybody on K5

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick of sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everybody on K5

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everybody on Trolltalk

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everybody on Trolltalk

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everyone Else on Slashdot

An open letter to Jamie McCarthy

Dear Jamie,
There's a reason people look at you like you're some kind of goddamn freak. We're pretty sure there's other reasons you won't show your face anymore; we've been reading slashdot long enough to remember the pictures the Holland Sentinel published of you with your slicked back greasejob haircut and hawkish little face. I remember thinking "God, I know Internet filters are bad, but the last fucking thing that is going to convince anyone of anything is this guy". You need to wash. You need to exercise. You need to get a haircut, and get a real job. Soon, VA is going to fire you, and you're going to be out in the real world. And that is going to be the shock of a fucking lifetime. You need to prepare.

As much as you delight in finding people despicable enough that you feel tormenting them is your righteous duty, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Michael Sims is not a Nazi. In fact, he knew the truth about you long before anyone else did. You and your friends may run THE CENSORWARE PROJECT, but anyone with a lick sense now knows that you're personally responsible for writing the Censorware code that's now built into Slashdot. Let's be extremely clear about this: you define Censorware to be "software which is designed to prevent another person from sending or receiving information (usually on the web)". And you've checked mountains of code into CVS to prevent people with dissenting opinions from sending information on the web. It meets your definition, letter for letter. And guess what? Your Censorware is just as effective as every Censorware project you have ever railed against. How effective is that?

How effective is that? That's a great question. It's effective in exactly the same way NetNanny is effective. It stops technically non-proficient people in their tracks. They become victims of a robotic system that no one understands. Get a new account on this cool site, post a comment about how you had a hard time installing Linux, and BAMMO, you and your whole subnet are banned from posting. Congratulations. But it doesn't stop the clever, does it Jamie? How many times have you written articles about how the folks at Peacefire can walk rings around an Internet filter in 10 seconds flat? Well guess what?

I just spent the whole fucking day running circles around your pathetic little Internet filter. How does it feel to be a commercial software developer paid to block people from accessing something and failing?

Your points about Censorware were something you should have listened to. You and your pathetic system are a bleeding failure. Like your opponents, you have frustrated the weak and enraged the strong. Soon, you'll lose your job, and you're going to be sitting on the other side of an oak desk with someone trying to interview you looking at you, and your resume, like this.

And that, as they say, is poetic justice.

--Everyone Else on Slashdot

Most parents shun net filters

"It's been an incredibly interesting journey that we've been on," said LoriJo Schepers, co-chair of Citizens Voting YES! to Protect Our Children, a committee that campaigned in favor of the ordinance.

"God has called us to this, and no matter what happens from this point forward, I think he would say to us now 'Well done, good and faithful servants,'" Schepers said. "This is a journey. This is not the end."

I don't have a problem with people having religious beliefs - as long as they don't try to inflict them on me. Religious fanatics (from any political bent) are the worst kind of fanatics since their status for eternity rests with doing the biding of an almighty power.

Of course, with AFA and the other groups involved, this was to be expected.

Following the library money:

Pro-filter group takes big money lead

Pro-filter factions win money battle
"Thanks to $35,000 gift from AFA, groups pushing for Internet filters have advantage"

This is an interesting article by Case VanKampen, a columnist for the Holland Sentinel, and a minister at a reformed church in the area. In a nutshell, he points out that children can get a pornographic novel in Herrick Public Library easier than getting porn on the Internet.

The article is here.

- Detritus

"I never really liked computers, but then the server went down on me"

Many libraries have children's sections, but even there, censorship is rarely the main motivator (although usually some censorship of content takes place.) Even a rule limiting library Internet access to patrons over 18 would be a better compromise than censorware - at least then grown-ups could decide for themselves what they want to read.

No library worth a hill of beans is free of socially disagreeable texts. A small city library is, IMHO, inadequate if it does not contain key political texts like Mein Kampf. Many, many 19th century American classics were written by racists, sexists and homophobes, not all of whom hide this fact in their books, yet a library that refuses to shelve these classics would be viewed by most people as negligent. No sane person would object to a public library containing a book of papal bulls, even though most rural American communities are overwhelmingly Protestant. I would wonder about a library that didn't have a copy of the Bible, or for that matter the Quran, yet these books contain material that surely offends large numbers of people. The works of many bestselling authors are full of obscene language, violence, and vividly described sex of many kinds. Andrew Vachss books are full of this kind of thing, yet most libraries have at least a few copies of his currently popular novels.

No one doubts that people can judge the contents of books for themselves, why do so many assume that isn't possible on the web? If the intent is to protect children, then an 18 and over rule is far, far more sensible (although still a bad idea in my opinion), yet, these nutters from the religious right all want censorship software.

The American Library Association has repeated, again and again, that librarians should make information available to the public. They are not willing to be censors. I'm with the ALA on this one, not the AFA.

BTW, the Holland Times article on John McCain is at http://www.theholl andsentinel.net/stories/011100/new_mccain.html.

It concludes with the following line:

"There were allegations that I was nuts," McCain said.

A new slogan for the McCain campaign (recycled from Barry Goldwater's '64 run for President):

In your guts, you know he's nuts!

then how come in in an article on the AFA site, he has introduced a bill that would help put filters in place in schools and libraries? Methinks a rat I smell.