I agree. Dean's been the most innovative candidate using the web to orgainize grassroots volunteers in a decentralized fashion. His campaign is using Meetup.com (actually, the grassroots started that first), a high-quality video distribution service (howarddean.tv; Windows only), has a blog and was the first candidate to leave a comment on a weblog. His campaign manager, Joe Trippi is incredibly tuned in to what people are saying on the web.
And not a peep on this from Slashdot. Does this mean that the Washington Post scooped Slashdot on a technology story? That's pretty lame.
Basing a critique of a Democratic candidate from the Neo-Conservative Weekly Standard is like asking the fox which chicken he wants to debate, but I'll refute your points anyway.
It's handy to refer to the Meet the Press transcript, instead of the second-hand Weekly Standard article.
He was asked if he'd vote for the Medicare bill with a prescription drug benefit that is likely to pass Congress soon? Dean wouldn't say. Why?
Dean was honest: "So I don't know how I'd vote on this bill right now, and I'd want to see the last amendments before it goes out the door."
Sounds like the kind of thoughtful, careful man I'd like to be President.
Is he still for a balanced budget amendment? He said only that he's "tempted" to be for it.
He's "tempted" to be for it because, despite being bad policy, it will prevent Republicans from trashing the federal budget like they've been doing since Bush got into office.
Balanced budged amendment is something that is political, I've publicly said that it's not great public policy, but we may have to have it anyway because you can't trust the Republicans with your money. And that's true, this president is using Argentina as his fiscal model: borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow and spend. It turns out the Republicans pushed the balanced budget but they never balanced budgets. They cut taxes, they cut services, they raise your middle class property taxes, but they never balance budgets and that's why we may need a balanced budget amendment.
Should a gay marriage in Canada be recognized in the United States? He refused to give a responsive answer.
Correctly, because he didn't know the anwser to a technical legal question. The right answer is that it will probably vary by state. States with "Defense of Marriage Acts" will almost certainly not recognize Canadian gay marriages.
From the interview:
Dean: I can't answer that question because it's a legal question, but I can tell you what I will definitely do. I will definitely make sure they have exactly the same rights as married people, which is what we've done in Vermont. I can't tell you about the marriage question. I think the answer probably is they are legally entitled to be recognized, but I don't without--I'm not a lawyer and I don't know the answer to that.
Russert: Would you--do you think they should be?
Dean: Well, that's a very difficult issue. The position I've always taken is that it's the church's business to decide who they can marry and who they can't marry.
Would he name the Democratic candidates who he said need a "backbone transplant"? No, he wouldn't.
And get trashed for being "mean" again? I think not.
The Bob Harris piece linked to above is VERY one-sided.
Dean's a pragmatic progressive. He's not as liberal as Kucinich -- well, except for that tiny, itsy-bitsy bit about ABORTION -- but you know where Dean stands.
Which is why it's so sad that Bob Harris presented such a one-sided collection here. I refuted his points in this piece for the Dean Defense forces. Check it out if you want to hear the other side of the story.
I dunno man. "The Difference Engine" is one of the few books I have not been able to finish. The concept was neat, but the execution was totally flawed and extremely boring.
The EFF is a 501(c)3 non-profit. That means it does not loby politicians or campaign against specific legislation. If your employer matches non-profit donations, they will probably match to any 501(c)3, including the EFF.
That's why I suggest that people also support online artists, comic strips, and programmers. It's OK to get something in return for your contribution. That's why I list everything I recieved from my contributions.
You can be pretty greedy and still hurt the MPAA and RIAA.
I am the one who started this Lessig's Challenge business, and I suggest that you do both.
I contribute to free software, help with several weblogs that promote the gift economy, free exchange of information, etc., and write my congressmen when there is pending legislation.
But I can also help out by giving money.
You can (and should) do both. But for people who are too busy or ambivialent for activism, giving money is an easy way to help.
Hi, I'm the guy who made the Lessig's Challenge website. I'd like to address some of the concerns which have been raised with the idea.
To my doubters: This isn't about a fundraising drive for the EFF (though I
think you should join. Did you know the EFF only has 7,000 members? You
can make your voice heard in the way the EFF operates if you join). It
isn't about me buying cool stuff and writing it off as hurting the MPAA.
It's about supporting a different way to do things than the MPAA and RIAA.
They want to lock up content and charge you every time you view it. They
want to prevent you from viewing DVDs on Linux. And we help them do it.
Every time you buy a CD, every time you go to a movie, you help them take
away your freedom.
It's time to fight back. We can fight back not only by giving money to the
EFF and the ACLU and the Free Software Foundation and Digital Consumer --
orgainizations which will fight against the media oligarchy -- but also by
helping those artists and programmers who are outside the system. If they
can make a living without turning to the RIAA or MPAA, the media oligarchy
will not survive for long.
I'm not asking you to boycott these orgainizations entirely because it's
not really plausable. Everyone likes to go see a movie now and then,
everyone likes to listen to the radio or buy a few CDs. What I'm
challenging you to do is to keep track of how much you're giving to the
oligarchy (to take away your freedom) and counter that with a donation to
people who will fight against that.
I applaud the author for coming up with a simple term for this concept. After Blender was released under the GLP, I theorized on the Potlatch Wiki, that this model might have a bright future. Developers would release their software as closed or shareware until a certain amount of money was raised, and then release it under a free software license.
One project which is doing this right now is Free Pepper. They are attempting to raise $11,000 to buy the source code of the popular, but discontinued, Pepper programmers' editor for Mac (Pepper 4 was also ported to Windows and Linux).
I never used Pepper but I wanted to push this site because I want this idea -- which now has a name -- to succeed. So check out their site and maybe give 'em a buck or two.
People who are complaining about the UI for a versioned document system haven't used Adobe Photoshop recently.
It saves as much undo information as you need AND allows you to back up to a certain point, then go forward on a new "branch". And if you don't like where that branch is going, you can back up again and go back to where you were originally. It's the "History" pane and it's a real innovation in document UI.
That's the way all applications should work, in my opinion.
I was wondering when someone was going to bring up those stories. They represent some of my favorite writing on K5 (localroger is consistently one of K5's finest authors). I've added them to my hotlist.
Uncertified applications will run, but they will have no access to "trusted", encrypted data.
So, you will still be able to use your MP3s from before 2006 or whenever Palladium ships, but everything that the entertainment industry and Microsoft shove down your throat after that will be signed, encrypted data that can only be unlocked by "trusted" programs -- and this trust is supposed to go all the way to the speakers and the keyboard.
Anyone who reads Declan's politech mailing list or any other list where the Cato Institute frequently releases its propaganda has had his face rubbed in that.
Don't I know it. I've got my share of libertarian tendencies, but these days I'm increasingly a civil libertarian first and foremost. I don't care who is taking away my freedom. I want to stop them. Sometimes government creates these problems; sometimes it doesn't.
Declan's list is so pathetic when he launches onto one of his "the market can do no evil" rants in favor of DRM or EULAs. I call it "Declan's Cato Institute Dick Sucking List" because of his willingness to forward all the latest Cato propaganda to the list.
This definately needs to be covered. I did some (unrelated) work for a small local business who was assuring their internet customers that credit card transactions with their site were "100% secure". Which, basically, they were...until the transaction with the web server was over, and a script -- provided by the ISP, no less -- fired off an email to their POP3 account with all the credit card details.
And don't even get me started about their pathetic passwords.
Old typewriters didn't have '1' keys, they had 'l' for both "one" and "ell". Journalists like Katz learned how to type on this kind of keyboard, and therefore, it still shows up in his writing.
You should try Opera. I used to use it at work, and it rocks. It definately impacted my browsing style. When I used Netscape 4, I would have 4 or 5 windows open at a time. But with Opera, openning a new window is so fast that you just do it as a matter of course. If I'm reading something with an interesting link, I just open it in a new window and come back for it later. Sometimes I would have upwards of 30 windows open -- and leave them open for weeks.
I think your IE browsing habits are similar to my Opera browsing habits. The difference is that Opera supports that kind of hard-core browsing, and encourages it. You should give it a shot.
Good one. I agree with the AC below, too: Smashing Pumpkins. I actually looked their stats up, too. Siamese Dream is still selling pretty well long after it came out.
Slashdot Mirror
Quaaludes are totally real. Haven't you ever played Drug Wars?
Yes, I believe it's a grassroots movement, because I've been part of it since January, and no one at the campaign was paying attention to us then.
I agree. Dean's been the most innovative candidate using the web to orgainize grassroots volunteers in a decentralized fashion. His campaign is using Meetup.com (actually, the grassroots started that first), a high-quality video distribution service (howarddean.tv; Windows only), has a blog and was the first candidate to leave a comment on a weblog. His campaign manager, Joe Trippi is incredibly tuned in to what people are saying on the web.
And not a peep on this from Slashdot. Does this mean that the Washington Post scooped Slashdot on a technology story? That's pretty lame.
It's handy to refer to the Meet the Press transcript, instead of the second-hand Weekly Standard article.
Dean was honest: "So I don't know how I'd vote on this bill right now, and I'd want to see the last amendments before it goes out the door."
Sounds like the kind of thoughtful, careful man I'd like to be President.
He's "tempted" to be for it because, despite being bad policy, it will prevent Republicans from trashing the federal budget like they've been doing since Bush got into office.
Dean explains again in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition:
Correctly, because he didn't know the anwser to a technical legal question. The right answer is that it will probably vary by state. States with "Defense of Marriage Acts" will almost certainly not recognize Canadian gay marriages.
From the interview:
Dean: I can't answer that question because it's a legal question, but I can tell you what I will definitely do. I will definitely make sure they have exactly the same rights as married people, which is what we've done in Vermont. I can't tell you about the marriage question. I think the answer probably is they are legally entitled to be recognized, but I don't without--I'm not a lawyer and I don't know the answer to that.
Russert: Would you--do you think they should be?
Dean: Well, that's a very difficult issue. The position I've always taken is that it's the church's business to decide who they can marry and who they can't marry.
And get trashed for being "mean" again? I think not.
The Bob Harris piece linked to above is VERY one-sided.
Dean's a pragmatic progressive. He's not as liberal as Kucinich -- well, except for that tiny, itsy-bitsy bit about ABORTION -- but you know where Dean stands.
Which is why it's so sad that Bob Harris presented such a one-sided collection here. I refuted his points in this piece for the Dean Defense forces. Check it out if you want to hear the other side of the story.
I dunno man. "The Difference Engine" is one of the few books I have not been able to finish. The concept was neat, but the execution was totally flawed and extremely boring.
The Stars My Destination is a fantastic book. It has a "feel" to it which defies its age. It is one of the classics of science fiction.
The EFF is a 501(c)3 non-profit. That means it does not loby politicians or campaign against specific legislation. If your employer matches non-profit donations, they will probably match to any 501(c)3, including the EFF.
Giving money to the ACLU will help further all of those goals.
For next month's part of the challenge, I intend to donate to the ACLU.
Luke (the guy who's webpage we're all talking about)
That's why I suggest that people also support online artists, comic strips, and programmers. It's OK to get something in return for your contribution. That's why I list everything I recieved from my contributions.
You can be pretty greedy and still hurt the MPAA and RIAA.
Hi, I am the guy behind the challenge.
I contribute to those causes as well (also political campaigns) but I chose not to list them on the page because they are orthogonal to the goals.
It's possible to support more than one cause at once and I do so.
I am the one who started this Lessig's Challenge business, and I suggest that you do both.
I contribute to free software, help with several weblogs that promote the gift economy, free exchange of information, etc., and write my congressmen when there is pending legislation.
But I can also help out by giving money.
You can (and should) do both. But for people who are too busy or ambivialent for activism, giving money is an easy way to help.
Hi, I'm the guy who made the Lessig's Challenge website. I'd like to address some of the concerns which have been raised with the idea.
To my doubters: This isn't about a fundraising drive for the EFF (though I think you should join. Did you know the EFF only has 7,000 members? You can make your voice heard in the way the EFF operates if you join). It isn't about me buying cool stuff and writing it off as hurting the MPAA.
It's about supporting a different way to do things than the MPAA and RIAA. They want to lock up content and charge you every time you view it. They want to prevent you from viewing DVDs on Linux. And we help them do it. Every time you buy a CD, every time you go to a movie, you help them take away your freedom.
It's time to fight back. We can fight back not only by giving money to the EFF and the ACLU and the Free Software Foundation and Digital Consumer -- orgainizations which will fight against the media oligarchy -- but also by helping those artists and programmers who are outside the system. If they can make a living without turning to the RIAA or MPAA, the media oligarchy will not survive for long.
I'm not asking you to boycott these orgainizations entirely because it's not really plausable. Everyone likes to go see a movie now and then, everyone likes to listen to the radio or buy a few CDs. What I'm challenging you to do is to keep track of how much you're giving to the oligarchy (to take away your freedom) and counter that with a donation to people who will fight against that.
Here are a few suggestions:
The list goes on and on.
One project which is doing this right now is Free Pepper. They are attempting to raise $11,000 to buy the source code of the popular, but discontinued, Pepper programmers' editor for Mac (Pepper 4 was also ported to Windows and Linux).
I never used Pepper but I wanted to push this site because I want this idea -- which now has a name -- to succeed. So check out their site and maybe give 'em a buck or two.
People who are complaining about the UI for a versioned document system haven't used Adobe Photoshop recently.
It saves as much undo information as you need AND allows you to back up to a certain point, then go forward on a new "branch". And if you don't like where that branch is going, you can back up again and go back to where you were originally. It's the "History" pane and it's a real innovation in document UI.
That's the way all applications should work, in my opinion.
This is GREAT news...for all 3 Macintosh Netware users that are left!
I was wondering when someone was going to bring up those stories. They represent some of my favorite writing on K5 (localroger is consistently one of K5's finest authors). I've added them to my hotlist.
Uncertified applications will run, but they will have no access to "trusted", encrypted data.
So, you will still be able to use your MP3s from before 2006 or whenever Palladium ships, but everything that the entertainment industry and Microsoft shove down your throat after that will be signed, encrypted data that can only be unlocked by "trusted" programs -- and this trust is supposed to go all the way to the speakers and the keyboard.
Don't I know it. I've got my share of libertarian tendencies, but these days I'm increasingly a civil libertarian first and foremost. I don't care who is taking away my freedom. I want to stop them. Sometimes government creates these problems; sometimes it doesn't.
Declan's list is so pathetic when he launches onto one of his "the market can do no evil" rants in favor of DRM or EULAs. I call it "Declan's Cato Institute Dick Sucking List" because of his willingness to forward all the latest Cato propaganda to the list.
This definately needs to be covered. I did some (unrelated) work for a small local business who was assuring their internet customers that credit card transactions with their site were "100% secure". Which, basically, they were...until the transaction with the web server was over, and a script -- provided by the ISP, no less -- fired off an email to their POP3 account with all the credit card details.
And don't even get me started about their pathetic passwords.
Old typewriters didn't have '1' keys, they had 'l' for both "one" and "ell". Journalists like Katz learned how to type on this kind of keyboard, and therefore, it still shows up in his writing.
You should try Opera. I used to use it at work, and it rocks. It definately impacted my browsing style. When I used Netscape 4, I would have 4 or 5 windows open at a time. But with Opera, openning a new window is so fast that you just do it as a matter of course. If I'm reading something with an interesting link, I just open it in a new window and come back for it later. Sometimes I would have upwards of 30 windows open -- and leave them open for weeks.
I think your IE browsing habits are similar to my Opera browsing habits. The difference is that Opera supports that kind of hard-core browsing, and encourages it. You should give it a shot.
Good one. I agree with the AC below, too: Smashing Pumpkins. I actually looked their stats up, too. Siamese Dream is still selling pretty well long after it came out.
Sorry, that's the wrong Scott. We're talking about Scott McCloud, not Scott Kurtz.