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Patriot Act Up For Renewal, Nobody Notices
Ponca City, We Love You writes "When the Patriot Act was first signed in 2001, it was billed as a temporary measure required because of the extreme circumstances created by the terrorist threat. The fear from its opponents was that executive power, once given, is seldom relinquished. Now the Examiner reports that on January 5th, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) introduced a bill to add yet another year to the soon-to-be-expiring Patriot Act, extending it until February, 2012, with passage likely to happen after little debate or contention. If passed, this would be the second time the Obama administration has punted on campaign promises to roll back excessive surveillance measures allowed under the act. Last year's extension passed under the heading of the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act. 'Given the very limited number of days Congress has in session before the current deadline, and the fact that the bill's Republican sponsor is only seeking another year, I think it's safe to read this as signaling an agreement across the aisle to put the issue off yet again,' writes Julian Sanchez."
Veto it.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
I noticed yesterday when it was published in another news source.
All of Slashdot noticed today obviously.
Quit acting like nobody noticed or the politicians might start to think they can get away with nobody noticing.
That deaf-dumb-blind kid, sure could play a mean pinball.
Ha, bet you thought I was gonna say "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss", didn't you?
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
Wont.
More unconstitutional drivel from our elected body. I guess reading the constitution isn't doing them a bit of good.
Saying Android is a family of phones is akin to saying Linux is a family of PCs.
Why is anyone surprised that Patriot act has bipartisan support? At the time it was passed all Democrat senators voted for it except for one (Feingold) and he is not in senate anymore. Democrats always supported the act, just like the Republicans did. Obama has renewed it regularly since so its a safe bet that he would have voted for it had he been in senate at the time.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
Let's not forget his promise to shut down Guantanamo and to end the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy.
When Obama and the Democrats didn't repeal it when they had all the power, and now, when they seemingly won't object to its renewal, does that mean they are hypocrites? Does it also mean that they actually tacitly approve of it?
For all the noise and whining that's been made about it by their constituents , the Dems sure have been quiet about it.
When the people you hate (republicans) and the people you love (Democrats) seem to be of like mind on something like this, is it time to consider that you are on the fringes and just a bit nuts?
cool story, bro.
--- Do you believe in the day?
we talk about how unworkable, public-enemy the system in america has become. and say that wikileaks exposes stuff like these, and it is necessary. whoops -> mod down to oblivion. uncomfortable truth better not heard.
and when we call on americans, some of you come up saying that not all americans are the same, some of you actually see what's going on, and aware of how things really are. ok. well. nice.
however, you have to do that, BEFORE being called out. if, you dont speak, and instead let the most loud voice that speaks be of irrationality and make-believe, it means that you are basically leaving the arena to such minded people.
when the wise dont speak, fools have the day.
Read radical news here
Can we go back into the Slashdot archives, find all the people who said "it'll just be for a little while," and then bug the fuck out of them..???
See where they are today..?
Because: I remember telling them, and I want to say: I TOLD YOU SO.
How long until they set it up so it's "extended for another year" renewal bill becomes automatically passed if it isn't voted down?
They've done it on other things. It's a scam where they can refuse to vote, it automatically passes, and they can claim they didn't vote for it.
It's going to take a lot of people to metaphorically kick them in the balls repeatedly until they get the idea that maybe that nazi act needs to be retired before they'll do it.
I love the way US laws are given these cheesy, sometimes forced, acronyms.
I think you guys are doing yourself a disservice as they seem to dumb down the often complex debates and arguments covered by these acts, and force folk into simplistic positions based on the naming of the acts. It must be hard to argue against a PATRIOT act: most people don't want to appear 'unpatriotic'.
I am guessing there are civil servants paid to make up some of these acronyms, some of them must have taken some thinking! ("Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001" - impressive!).
is a mandatory sunset date on every bill that they sign into law. A year wouldn't be bad. A year would give legal scholars and the public (and maybe even congress itself ,... nah wait for it...... hahahahaha) a chance to review it to see if it actually works.
The PATRIOT Act is here to stay. There is NO WAY the Federal Government is going to willingly give up all the powers it granted them.
Of all the stupid things that happened during the Bush years, that is by far the most damaging. And it's going to take a Congress and a President with a hell of a lot more spine to repeal it. I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Would anyone even notice? Would he comment on it? Here's the mailing address:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
A mailing address that changes all the rules.
"What no one seemed to notice... was the ever widening gap... between the government and the people. The dictatorship, and the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting. It provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway... and kept us so busy with continuous changes and 'crises' and so fascinated, yes, fascinated, by the machinations of the 'national enemies,' without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, 'regretted,' that... one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. One day it is over his head. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow. But the one great shocking occasion... never comes. That's the difficulty." - Milton Mayer (1908-1986) journalist and educator, writing about the Nazi takeover of Germany from the point of view of the average citizen, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1938-45
Americans seem to fall into these categories:
The rich - they don't care about justice or injustice, just money
The poor - they may care but they have no power
The oblivious - they're busy watching American Idol and eating pizza
The middle class - they're just trying to maintain or looking for work
"What keeps most Americans from being shocked by the shredding of the Bill of Rights is that they have yet to feel the consequences, either personally or through someone close to them. It would appear, however, that they only have to wait." - William Blum
No, we decided that if we were going to be oppressed, we could at least bask in the small luxury of complete sentences.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
...and going to make a killing on /.
Email me at omg dot wtf dot conspiracy at fringelunatic dot com
I've always thought the birth certificate thing was a stroke of genius from Obama's political advisors. They could have easily provided a real birth certificate years ago and disproven the whole thing, but they didn't. They know that the far right are going to bitch about something, so why not have it be about something that isn't going to resonate with anyone else? If Obama pulled out a birth certificate, they'd just move on to something else that might actually hold water with people outside of their own group. No one in the center is going to be swayed over a birth certificate conspiracy, because it seems petty and completely stupid. It also makes people who keep parroting it look like raving idiots and therefor makes any intelligent points that they may have seem as though they are more suspect or less reasonable.
Sometimes, you people on Slashdot are scary. You don't sound dangerous in a crazy-guy-shoot'in-up-the-place, but scary.
There has not been much serious abuse of the law since it was created. While the potential for that abuse is still there I have not seen convincing evidence that the innocent have been terribly harassed because of this act. The war is still on. Numerous attacks have been foiled in the last several years primarily due to good intelligence. I hope someday that we will again live in a world where these laws are not needed, but I don't think that day has come.
In order to justify it's positions, the ACLU uses an argunent that is vary simple to articulate but vary difficult to defend - that being, the Slippery Slope Argument.
-hillct (230132)
http://slashdot.org/story/01/11/29/0512208/DOJ-Already-Monitoring-Cable-Internet-Traffic
I'm not usually prone to paranoia, but I've begun thinking the massive crackdown on civil liberties is being done intentionally in order to goad Democrats into responding. At which point the Republican party will start screeching about how the Democrats are soft on terrorism and don't care about the security of your children etc.
-nomadic (141991)
Of course Hillary--it's another VAST RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY!!! You are being paranoid.
-wakebrdr (13565)
Despite the opinion often voiced on this board that there is aboslutely *no* relationship between the restrictions of civil liberties and increased security there is in some situations exactly such a relationship and our contitution and laws reflect that reality. To be fair I will note that if such measures are taken to lengths not justified by the degree of threat or are taken to extremes even if there is a high level of threat they become subject to a law of diminishing returns and can even become counterproductive. Unfortunately since our enemy in this war is secretive and shadowy it is very hard even for our government to assess the real level of continuing threat. But the attacks on Septemeber 11th suggest that it would be a grave mistake to underestimate the threat... As I said before there are some ambiguities but overall the legal and constitutional validity of these military tribunals seems pretty sound..
-overunderunderdone (521462)
And this bundle of awesome
Obama is worse than Bush: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/obama-doj-worse-than-bush
And to think that man almost become vice president... Man! dodged a bullet on that one..
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
This is textbook propaganda. All governments do it.
Doublespeak, newspeak, thought-terminating cliches, loaded language and weasel words.
Bonus points if you can shoehorn all that it into a backronym.
Yup, er, ah, uh
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Why oh why did I just spend my last modpoint on a funny post about salty bacteria ?
What a depressingly stupid machine.
While I agree that Obama has left much to be desired, comparing a common speech problem with a bumbling idiot is flamebait at best and ignorant at worst.
I mean, come on...seriously? Making fun of a guy who pseudo-stutters? What is this, fucking kindergarten?
Living With a Nerd
With the 10 year anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks coming later this year, do you honestly think they'll give up this kind of power?
But I have to take my hat off to your lot, you've got it down to a fine art! Our lot still call laws things like the "Constitutional Reform and Governance Act".
Hardly works the same with rednecks eh? you can't give somebody a hard time by saying "hey buddy, you're not un-CRGA -tic are you?" ;-)
If they were able to pass an act like this in the first place, doesn't it kind of make the very idea of "law" silly in the first place?
Like:
"The constitution is sacred and here are your rights, but we''ll ignore it and just take them away when it suits us (to keep you "safe", ostensibly)."
In my opinion this is basically a three mile island type event. Sure it didn't go Chernobyl, but only because we got lucky.
What is this, fucking kindergarten?
Is that a rhetorical question?
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Why does modern US politics always remind me of monkeys with typewriters?
I always thought that McCain was reasonably articulate. I'm not seeing where you are going here.
I feel sorry for people who can't understand sarcasm. Republicans call us demoncrats all the time, I was just reclaiming the word. I did not actually use the word "demoncrat" when complaining to my right wing friends about the patriot act.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Great quotes in there, the Milton Mayer one is especially apt today.
What's a pseudo-stutter?
If W was really an idiot, would it be his fault? Guess what: he's Ivy-league educated, and not an idiot. Why are you calling people names? What is this, preschool?
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
No it would not be his fault, it would be the fault of the folks that elected him.
As to his supposed education, have you ever heard of a "Gentleman's C"?
I wish we knew what Obama got from Columbia, because he wouldn't release those grades. We do know he got less than a 3.3 because he did not graduate with honors. He did do well in law school.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
The first rules of power is you never give up power. Why should we think now is any different with democrats than republicans? That being said it could also be debated that we, as a country, are no safer now then when the Act came into being. What if anything has truly changed?
No, we decided that if we were going to be oppressed, we could at least bask in the small luxury of complete sentences.
Still think it was Obama vs. Bush in 2008, huh?
Oh, and have a listen to Obama in the rare occasion he's not reading from a teleprompter. Not much better than Bush.
But at least he can pronounce "Nuclear".
Godaddy is a scam and a ripoff.
If W was really an idiot, would it be his fault? Guess what: he's Ivy-league educated, and not an idiot.
"I'm going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there's an authoritarian voice saying exactly what happened." --George W. Bush
"One of the very difficult parts of the decision I made on the financial crisis was to use hardworking people's money to help prevent there to be a crisis." --George W. Bush
"I'm telling you there's an enemy that would like to attack America, Americans, again. There just is. That's the reality of the world. And I wish him all the very best." --George W. Bush
"In terms of the economy, look, I inherited a recession, I am ending on a recession." --George W. Bush
"First of all, I don't see America having problems." --George W. Bush
"I want to tell you how proud I am to be the President of a nation that -- in which there's a lot of Philippine-Americans. They love America and they love their heritage. And I reminded the President that I am reminded of the great talent of the -- of our Philippine-Americans when I eat dinner at the White House." --George W. Bush
The man is a fucking idiot.
Living With a Nerd
G. W. Bush is much more intelligent than the majority of people who make fun of his intelligence. So is Obama, Biden, and Sarah Palin, for that matter.
I listened to George W Bush address this nation for 8 years. Were you listening? If the man isn't an idiot, he was doing a great job talking like it.
Living With a Nerd
1) He's off by a factor of 50, which while not great, is still orders of magnitude better than the 1:1 odds of being spied upon that he quotes. Even if both stats are off by a factor of 50, the point still stands; or
2) He's engaging in the ancient and time-honored art of hyperbole, in which case his point STILL stands.
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
McCain's undoing was the Palin crap and not running as he did before. Had he ran as McCain in 2000 he could have been elected, instead he did as his party told him and lost for it.
What difference would it make? If he got straight As, he would be an elite asshole (or he paid someone off.) If he got B or Cs, he'd be average and not worthy of the presidency. If he got straight Ds, he'd be an idiot.
Right?
Living With a Nerd
Pseudo stuttering, also known as voluntary stuttering, is a desensitization technique used by speech pathologists with their stuttering clients to help the stutterers learn to control their stutter and speak more clearly. The stutterer is encouraged to stutter on purpose as a technique that helps eliminate some of the anxiety associated with the stuttering.
Barack Obama simply seems to have difficulty choosing his words when speaking extemporaneously, there's really no indication that he has a stutter, or that he is engaging in speech therapy while he gives interviews.
Not that different from George Bush, really. Except that Pres. Bush would plow ahead and build bizarre grammatical constructs, while Pres. Obama just stops and continues repeating his word until he decides what to say next. The result is generally a more grammatically-correct sentence, but it doesn't make him sound any smarter while he's doing it.
Yes, I remember those days, that was before the US got 57 states!
Direct democracy via the internet is the only way.
the teabaggers will take care of this. im just SURE of it.
Bread and circuses. Ho-hum.
McCain's undoing was that the economy spectacularly tanked in the year before the election; combined with the impression Bush left, it made it certain that no Republican could win.
Hi America, You've lost your privacy (FBI, NSA) You've lost your dignity (airport security). You've lost your liberty (Patriot Act). All because of a few bogeymen. Best hide under your beds clutching your teddy bears - its all you've got left.
Not that different from George Bush, really. Except that Pres. Bush would plow ahead and build bizarre grammatical constructs, while Pres. Obama just stops and continues repeating his word until he decides what to say next. The result is generally a more grammatically-correct sentence, but it doesn't make him sound any smarter while he's doing it.
Except for one point I'd like to make... at least, once Obama is done, whether you agree with what he said or not, he makes sense. Half the time, by the time Bush is finished with his "bizarre grammatical constructs", he's making no sense. One can speculate what he means, but honestly, I usually have no clue, and worse yet, I dont think he does either.
StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
Shhh. you are going to hurt their feelings. I mean putting a man who has achieved so much more then them down can only be looked at as an attempt to feel better about themselves.
If you spoil that for them, they will have nothing. So quiet down now.
problem with "democracy" is that it really just ends up meaning the ones with the most money, win. All you have to do is convince more gullible sheep than the other person running, and bam - there you are. Sure, sure, it's really just how we've implemented democracy, not democracy itself that is a problem...except, I disagree. There is no way to have the common man make wise, intelligent decisions that are good for themselves. They want instant gratification. The common man has as much business deciding on budgets, long term goals, etc as a 5yo child does in a household - let the parents/adults make those decisions, kktnx.
What economy has been growing at an astronomical speed? The one that is able to make quick and intelligent decisions (China) without worrying about the people it harms. There's a happy medium between the two things...and that happy medium was what we originally had; a system where only the educated could vote. Was it perfect? Hell know, but at least it wasn't farking stupid like the crap we have now. I've never understood why people so readily accept the brainwashing that democracy is the only right way...think about how horrible medical science would be if we let the "common man" make decisions about how to do treatments, what procedures would be most respected, etc. Think about how successful medicine would be if any actor, random dude on the street, or whatnot could suddenly declare themselves a surgeon.
There is a certain skillset and personality to being a real, honest politician. One that has little to do with reading polls daily. We'll never get that back here - ever. C'est la vie, I guess.
Err....how did he get into Harvard Law with a 3.3? "Honors" varies from school to school.
There is more to science than physics!
www.iomalfunction.blogspot.com
After all Income tax was a temporary measure when it first passed too...
The Greens? The Tea party?
Yes, some green tea would be lovely. No sugar please.
Reply to That ||
There is no way House will pass Patriot Act now! After all, they did read Constitution out loud before this session started!
... had that kind of courage. RIP.
-kgj
Easy, spread the rumor on some far right formus that Obama wants to use the Patriot act to put in place strict gun control measures and Sarah Palin and friends wont wait to shoot the prolongation bill ...
The system will not allow somebody get elected who is threatens to disrupt those in power today. The best you can do is end up in a few party primaries like Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich and quickly be marginalized by the party elite, the press, the tv media, and even big donors. You think its bad for 3rd parties? Well, the people within the parties get calmly screwed and setup in more covert ways-- With Nader, all you get is some transparency because they have no incentive to be as nice.... That is, if you pay attention to the 3rd party at all because the press sure does not tell you about the dirty tricks.
Obama could be great; however, it does not matter about him personally or what he tries to accomplish - he is a pragmatist and totally willing to compromise over ideals, ethics, etc. THAT is why he was allowed to proceed despite being an untested outsider -- Hillary would have won if Obama couldn't be managed. (The party elite were largely in her camp at the beginning- but they are just 1 of the weaker factions.)
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
Alabama...figures. I don't understand why this congressman would want the Patriot Act. It's not like Alabama is going to get anything out of it.
You would expect that Republicans would want an act like this extended every year to infinity, but it appears that Democrats also support it.
We lose one set of buildings, and our unpatriotic congress revokes our freedoms.
he did this thing: after the reichstagsbrand (what some people say it's like americas 9/11) the "notstandsgesetz" was made. it lasted for his legislature period, which was till he was dead. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notstandsgesetz i'm sorry there's no english version, but i'm sure you can bing/google it yourself. no native speaker, sorry for my errors
The largest Washington protests not only got downplayed but some of the biggest in history were almost entirely ignored. I'm thinking of some of the early anti war protests that hardly had coverage and many people I knew didn't know about them or that they outnumbered most (perhaps all) the Vietnam protests in size.
I've been to some protests and while they were only a few thousand, I knew how many people where there because I know how big a crowd that size is (my high school as that large) but the local news ranged from thousand down to 500. Fox news was there and their man gathered the 6-8 republican supporters against the back of our crowd and filmed them as a group which was portrayed as non-staged and because of the direction didn't give as much of a picture as to how few of them there were. I know because I was board and counted all them that afternoon. (Assuming they wouldn't just stand around looking like they were with the protesters and would have opposing signage.) I also followed around the fox news guy to see what he was up to; along with spotting 4 undercover cops (that makes a fun game.)
Yet when Glenn Beck or or some tea baggers are less than 15k in size they get more attention than 100k do.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
You must be new here.
Mr President When you swore to close Guantanamo, I wept. The pure vindication of my life long love for America seemed finally vindicated. You swore a return to sanity, to justice and peace. You swore an oath to your countrymen with such passion that they entrusted upon you the highest office. Your treachery is boundless.
However, sunset will never come. Just like last time, they'll shove it into some otherwise irrelevant bill, and it'll be renewed. Forever. Count on it.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
When Obama was elected, he had a website, basically "hey citizens, tell us what you want!" The most popular thing on that site, bar none, by huge margins, was the legalization of marijuana. You know what Obama did? He laughed it off. He mentioned it, but specifically said the only reason he was mentioning it was because he wanted us to know it wasn't going to happen.
That's what happens when the public makes its will clearly known.
This is not a democracy. This is a corporatist republic. Once you fully understand that, you'll stop wasting your time writing letters.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Oh, no. They read it, all right. They scanned every word to see if there was a political contribution in there, or a way to eke one out of you. You know, money. Once they were done with that, then they threw it away. I assure you, they read every letter carefully.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Instead, we have a plutocracy run amok that will not stop until they end with their heads severed by a guillotine. American democracy currently is a very bad joke since there are not term limits,campaign spending limits, rules about propaganda in mass media, rules about what are you allowed to say about an opponent or a standardized voting method. That coupled with a poorly educated population is a recipe for disaster. Montesquieu wrote about how will look a sick republic several hundred of years ago. His description fits perfectly for the USA and most western nations. My country, Mexico, is just in a more advanced state of rotting than USA or France, but is a matter of time and lack of citizens will to change to be in the same mess that we mexicans are.
Mexico: 100% conservative's America now!
The PATRIOT act was not required. They just passed it because it allowed them to do stuff that is only possible in times of war. Since with terrorism, you're not fighting something or someone very clear (i.e. a country), you can always say you're under threat and therefore do all the things you can't do in times of peace.
That was a real clever move, albeit evil.
"The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Too bad the only senator to vote against it the first time got voted out. I wonder if anyone (either House or Senate) will even try to take a stand this time around. My guess is no, because they're all worthless pussies.
Let me put a camera on you 24/7 for 8 years, and lets see what kind of 'best of' reel I can make. I hear a lot of sniping at Bush, but not a lot of considered and defended arguments in opposition to his opinions or actions. So, what has the empty suit in the white house done different from Bush that can be looked at and defended as a superior action? When he actually does anything, it turns out to be the same position Bush took. Otherwise, Obama's just a jaw wagging in time to a teleprompter.
If you're going to talk about considered and defended arguments, don't drop shallow insults like "empty suit" and "Obama's just a jaw wagging in time to a teleprompter".
i think he intentionally makes these speech errors to make him sound more like joe the plumber
Hopefully at least some of my reps will vote it down once it hits the floor for a vote.
Thanks for posting this on Slashdot. I don't think it's being covered in any mainstream news media outlet.
In a related note, has anyone noticed how obnoxious it has become to contact congress? I had to fill out a different web form for each congressman and the one for the house asked me for my full 10 digit zip, twice! It still only took about 15 minutes which is fully worth it for this issue.
Think globally but act within local variable scope.
Now all that's needed is a third.
Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.
Sounds to me that while talking, he can't hold a train of thought and plan ahead while talking, and when he slips, the scenario worsens. That's a brain tasking issue, not a proof of him being an idiot.
btw, I have a similar problem, esp. when I get nervous talking. I stumble in the speech, then I mini-panic, pause in a scare, and lose track of thought and can't backtrack to what I was speaking of from what I was planning to speak of, and I often then will "blank" and say something to cover the dead space. And yes, I've been laughed at, stared at like I'm a moron, only to have those same people if they ever get to know me comment how about how wrong they were.
You may find it funny to demean W because you don't like him, but it's really not proof or any sort of evidence as to his idiocy. Your failure to separate your dislike of him, or to use his speech issues as a means of attack, is really a reflection of your own lack of understanding and eagerness to hate on the guy.
In fact, I would this attack, often made against W, is part of the climate in going after Obama, which I'm sure many that make the argument that W is an idiot, would decry.
btw, and not that it matters, but I am/was no fan of W's policies. I also hated the Patriot Act from the get go.
The Republicans were definitely not in a good position in 2008, but the old John McCain would have been about the best possible pick as he was about as far away as you could get from Bush while still having an R after his name. However, his hard right turn starting about 2006 hurt his chances a lot, and then his pick of Palin as a running mate showed that he was no longer capable of making a good choice when it came to important decisions. That is what sank him.
Shhh. you are going to hurt their feelings. I mean putting a man who has achieved so much more then them down can only be looked at as an attempt to feel better about themselves.
Really? Name ONE thing he did that is a meaningful aspiration.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
So, what has the empty suit in the white house done different from Bush that can be looked at and defended as a superior action? When he actually does anything, it turns out to be the same position Bush took.
So, repealing don't ask don't tell is indefensible? Reversing Bush's ban on stem cell research?
I hear a lot of sniping at Bush, but not a lot of considered and defended arguments in opposition to his opinions or actions.
I suspect that's because you don't listen for them. Criticism of Bush's policies is legion.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Err....how did he get into Harvard Law with a 3.3?
Must have been a legacy.
You think I'm making a joke about Bush getting into Yale, but actually Obama's father got his masters at Harvard.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Sounds to me that while talking, he can't hold a train of thought and plan ahead while talking, and when he slips, the scenario worsens. That's a brain tasking issue, not a proof of him being an idiot.
Its also kind of a disqualifier for being a modern politician since speaking well under stress is kind of a prerequisite. Before Bush there was Quayle. The closest thing the other guys have to that is Biden - but he isn't stupid in the same way, he just doesn't have a filter. He's still plenty coherent even at his worst, just kind of an ass.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Lol.. He became president didn't he? I mean that's a lot more then most of us will ever do in our lifetime.
Lol.. He became president didn't he? I mean that's a lot more then most of us will ever do in our lifetime.
Funny, that's exactly what I expected you'd write.
And no. becoming president is not meaningful at all.
Plenty of scoundrels have become president.
Its just another job that in and of itself accomplishes nothing.
What matters is what someone does with the opportunities afforded by their job.
The list of destructive things Bush did with his job is pretty long.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
It's still a bigger achievement then most of us will ever accomplish. You are the one placing the arbitrary meaningful qualification to it.
If you don't believe me, ask yourself which sounds better on a job application for the last 8 years of employment. I was president of the United States of America, verses, I flipped burgers at burger town while living in mom's basement and going on line to argue and complain about everything that is wrong in this world.
Nuff said.
It's still a bigger achievement then most of us will ever accomplish. You are the one placing the arbitrary meaningful qualification to it.
Lol, I'll take that as admitting that you can't think of anything that he did that was worthwhile.
If you don't believe me, ask yourself which sounds better on a job application for the last 8 years of employment. I was president of the United States of America, verses, I flipped burgers at burger town while living in mom's basement and going on line to argue and complain about everything that is wrong in this world.
While we are making up arbitrary phrasing to rationalize our love of hierarchy... Which is going to sound better to Saint Peter? I was president of the united states of america during the single worst economy in the history of the country and caused the deaths of over 100,000 and maiming of over 500,000 people due to my direct orders to invade a country under false pretences OR I flipped burgers at burger town living in my mom's basement and lived a completely unremarkable life?
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
No, take that as meaning the term worthwhile is subjective and is a requirement that I never placed when making the comment. I was avoiding it because it will just turn into a flame war from someone who is arguable trolling.
I think you got it without realizing it. Your requirement is arbitrary and subjective. Because you see, in my subjective world, I think St. Peter would appreciate the good that was done by removing the 500k people who were basically bad people for the most part.
Do you see how arbitrary and subjective that is? You made it sound like a christian saint would disagree with the killing of people from some other religion who is attempting to kill his religion's people. And the economy got shot to hell because they scammers and asshats making it difficult for the little people finally got taken down.
Do I need to get more subjective in this analysis? I mean seriously, it's nothing more at this point then what you want to see as good and bad verses what I want to see as good and bad. If this is the leg you are trying to stand on, then go troll somewhere else.
I think you got it without realizing it. Your requirement is arbitrary and subjective.
Lol, so you are saying that it is only in YOUR head that people put down Bush to feel better about themselves.
Thus admitting that your judgment of their actions is completely about yourself and not about them at all.
Kinda what I thought from the beginning, just surprised you copped to it.
I think St. Peter would appreciate the good that was done by removing the 500k people who were basically bad people for the most part.
You made it sound like a christian saint would disagree with the killing of people from some other religion who is attempting to kill his religion's people.
That is pure psychopathy.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
You see, you are a complete idiot doing nothing but trying to bring others down in order to prop yourself up
lollers. The cognitive dissonance is strong in this one.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Perhaps it's more of you imposing your trollish beliefs into conversations in a way that you inject fallacy within your objectiveness.
Now go away and troll elsewhere.
Perhaps it's more of you imposing your trollish beliefs into conversations in a way that you inject fallacy within your objectiveness.
Dude, you write like the spittle is dripping off your monitor. The problem is with you by far.
It's particularly funny that you believe Bush is better than all of us because he is a recovered drug addict.
Talk about scratching the bottom of the barrel there, its like you are trolling yourself.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
well, then, lets just leave it at that and you can disappear.
well, then, lets just leave it at that and you can disappear.
Not just spittle-tastic but solipsistic too.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
lol.. You just couldn't resist trolling one more time could you.
lol.. You just couldn't resist trolling one more time could you.
Seriously? Are you really are so failing in self-awareness that you can't even recognise a mirroring of your own actions?
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Perhaps if you made sense outside your own warped little mind, I could see that. However, you don't and I have attempted to end this thread more then 3 times only to have you jump back in with yet another lame ass claim of some sort that doesn't even begin to touch the topic at hand..
Go troll elsewhere. Try the third grade where your whit might be better matched.
However, you don't and I have attempted to end this thread more then 3 times
No you haven't. Telling the other person to shut up is only an attempt to end a thread in the mind of a egotist.
Perhaps if you made sense outside your own warped little mind,
Lols. Dude the only reason I'm trolling you is to make the punishment fit the crime.
When you go around accusing people of being a troll simply because it hurts your brain to consider what they have to say, then the only thing left is to troll.
You bring it on yourself, especially because you are so easy to provoke -- troll, troll, herp, derp, troll, troll, dirkadirka, troll.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Do common and ordinary words mean anything to you at all? well, then, lets just leave it at that and you can disappear.
No, I accused you are being a troll because that is what you were doing. I made a statement that is backed largely by public opinion, added my opinion to it. You came about demanding conditions that were entirely arbitrary and subjective and couldn't deal with me not wanting to go down that path. When I finally did go down and list some things, you completely ignored them to jump to your next line of idiocy. You gave no one a taste of anything except your extreme lunacy.
Do you really think you provoked me? I mean seriously, I spotted you as a troll from your second post onward, made that notice public knowledge and refused to dive into your crap citing the flaws in it. It would seem that in your mind you are the master of third grade recess. Well, truthfully, I don't really care, most of us have grown up and moved on. If you are demanding that you be allowed to act like an immature ass using third grade logic, then go back to the playground and stop your insistent mental masturbation before you get all sticky.
No, I accused you are being a troll because that is what you were doing.
To the simplistic, sufficiently advanced concepts appear as nonsense.
Do you really think you provoked me?
You keep posting don't you? Loller, loller, get your lollers here.
Do common and ordinary words mean anything to you at all? well, then, lets just leave it at that and you can disappear.
Do motivations and ideas mean anything to you?
See how this works, I will 'try' to end the conversation now, "let's just leave it at that and you can disappear like the tool that you are."
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Are you thinking out loud or something? I mean that's a question you should be asking yourself.
You think everytime someone posts something it's because they were provoked? Wow.. Not only are you a troll, you're an idiot trying to troll.
Well, they do. Buy you would be a damn liar if you claimed you expressed either.
Ok, let's leave it at that then. BTW, when I said it, that was all I said. If you somehow think your troll here is remotely similar, you are foolishly wrong.
You think everytime someone posts something it's because they were provoked?
When they keep claiming to be trying to end the conversation than yes, that's exactly what I think.
Ok, let's leave it at that then. BTW, when I said it, that was all I said. If you somehow think your troll here is remotely similar, you are foolishly wrong.
When faced with the same "attempt" you jump back in with yet another lame ass claim of some sort that doesn't even begin to touch the topic at hand..
Why didn't you disappear like I commanded you to? Hypocrite.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
It would appear then that you think wrong.
See, above. and repeating what I said doesn't make it anywhere near relevant of accurate for you.
Unlike me, you added a lot of content to your statement. As I said before, you cannot compare what you did with what I did without showing how utterly ignorant you are. When I ended the conversation, I left your last statement standing and even said let's leave it at that. When you did it, you rambled on about how your inferior mind somehow creates some logic that you believe to be the best thing since sliced bread and that someone makes me in the wrong. You see, that completely different from what I did.
What I did was acknowledge that we weren't going to agree, skipped replying to your comment and stated that we should end the thread. What you did is continue to troll, totally and completely failed to present any clear argument or even remotely relevant discussion to what I had said, then act even more stupid then you have already by intentionally ignoring the obvious. I never commanded you to do anything. You never commanded me to do anything. What I did was fail to continue to argue with you. What you did was completely the opposite.
But hey, it's not like we both can't play your game. How about I start doing the same shit you are. I mean seriously, there's nothing stopping me and your concept is so unoriginal that it was obvious from the second post. It's up to you- I don't really care as I have almost as much time available as you might. I can even save time by recycling your own posts and just pasting the nonsense into threads you are actively engaged in.
If that's what you want, then just tell me. I know words are hard for you to understand and articulate so I'll try to interpret as best I can.
It would appear then that you think wrong.
Lollers.
Slave to your id I provoke you into writing at least 10x as many words in response.
When does the dumass realize he is nothing more than my dancing monkey?
I am starting to think you are mentally ill though, after all you did admit to living in your mother's basement and worshipping a drug addict.
Dance monkey! Dance for me!
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
You know it's interesting. I'm not the one crying about posts being modded down after trolling people. Perhaps you should examine your own life before attempting to tear someone else' down in order to prop your own up.
Oh damn.. did we just get back to what I originally said?
You know it's interesting. I'm not the one crying about posts being modded down after trolling people.
Haha. Monkey boy admits to abusing mod points in futile attempt to release impotent anger.
Keep dancing for me monkey boy. Herp a derp.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
I didn't admit to anything. I pointed out that your behavior is not very intelligent as others are telling you by the moderation you are getting. You can't see that and it appears to completely offend you because you start whining about it in threads under yourself.
I know you will continue to only consider what you can imagine in your mind no matter how fallacious it might be, but the dance is being done by you.. Perhaps you should examine the situation a little better.
I didn't admit to anything.
Only two people know that post was modded "troll" me and the modder - slashdot doesn't show that moderation type to anyone else.
My reply deliberately misrepresented it as an "overrated" mod, not "troll" as a dumbass trap. Look who it caught!
So yes, you admitted to doing EXACTLY the same thing you are bitching about here - trying to bring someone else down in order to make yourself feel good.
What a sad little life you must live - so full of impotent rage, so easily made to dance for my amusement.
I command you: dance another dance of denial and shame-hiding, make me laugh some more!
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Actually, anyone following the thread would know it was modded because that's how it works. you see a score and if you want to know the mods, you click on it and it shows the mod history for the post. Anyways all that super secret asinine spy shit to see what your post was modded wasn't needed. You see, you cried about it right underneath it. Does "Hah. Hey dipshit who modded my post down" sound familiar? And if you had half the reading comprehension skills you think you do, you would also notice I never said it was modded troll, I said you were crying about being modded down after trolling.
See above, then look in the mirror and then say "I will try not to be an idiot even though it's the most difficult thing to do in my life". Then repeat that ever fucking day you are alive.
lol.. I got you all worked up because of your own ignorance. Who's dancing now monkey? This is just so hilarious as your entire premise is based on your own ignorance of how mods work on slashdot. And now you are trying to make a statement that to anyone with half a clue knows is completely false.
You just don't get it do you? lol.. do you really want to play? I mean seriously, think about this. Do you really want to play this game when you obviously don't know how it's played?
So you laugh at your own mistakes huh.. That's good because I have been laughing at you too. Face it, you have been completely wrong about everything so far, this is so obvious that your mom should be able to point it out. Now you come on here and make a statement that is so unbelievable stupid that it makes you appear as if you just started surfing slashdot on the interweb last night. The funniest part is that you think you are winning.
I got you all worked up because of your own ignorance. Who's dancing now monkey?
You are, with another 10:1 provoked response.
All that verbiage and no one reads it. Not even me.
I keep winning and you are helpless to control your own fail.
Dance for me once more, I command it!
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
lol..
Blah, blah, blah.
So your measurement of content is saying the least. Well, that explains your intelligence problem. Now go cry about being modded down and act like you don't understand the obvious again.. Whah.....
lol..
Blah, blah, blah.
So your measurement of content is saying the least. Well, that explains your intelligence problem. Now go cry about being modded down and act like you don't understand the obvious again.. Whah.....
I've been informed by one of your friends that you have a mental disability.
Given that, its not fun to tweak you.
So I will now stop and I will even permit you to get the last word to make up for my cruelty.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.