Hear Hear! I am of the opinion that Americans, by and large, take their freedom for granted. They just don't think "it could happen here". Indeed, the American system is very strong and resists infringement on freedom. But it has been said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. We need more vigilance.
Yeah, but your car still starts without the seatbelt fastened. Imagine how much fun it would be if your car would only run if your seatbelt were fastened...
Considering that an investigation has been started and that computers have been confiscated, I think there is probably something to it. If there were no evidence, they would not have gotten this far. The Secret Service doesn't investigate for kicks.
"The goverment os america is supposed to be an open prcess for the people, by the people, and of the people. I don't know how any political party can have an expectation of secrecy."
I will assume this is just a poor choice of words, because the Democrat or Republican parties are not part of the government. So by your logic, they should still have the expectation of privacy. But I believe that in this case the computers belonged to congressional staffers, who are of course, part of the government. Which is what I think you meant.
In which case, are you honestly arguing against computer security and data integrity for the US Government?
Yes, I suppose that's true. But he started pushing the tax cut when we had a surplus because the economy was doing so well he said we should get our money back. Then the economy went south and suddenly the tax cut is for economic stimulation. Well which is it? Since when do opposite problems have the same solution?
But what I'm thinking of is his rolling back restrictions on logging in old-growth forests and calling it the Healthy Forests initative. Or his allowing higher levels of certain pollutants and calling it Clear Skies. A big one for me though is how he sold this war. Really. Before we invaded, the reasons for doing so changed weekely. First it was that he was defying the UN (which we ended up doing ourselves, even if it wasn't a UNSC resolution). Then it was that he had weapons ready to use at a moments notice. Unmanned aerial drones attacking the US?? Come on. Then we were doing it for the Iraqi people (like we gave a flying fsck about that while we were arming Saddam and he was fighting Iran for us). Then just beacuse Saddam is a bad dude.
Now there are no weapons (uranium from Niger anyone?), no connection to Al Qaeda, and a remarkable ineptitude in cleaning up the mess we made. I just don't trust this guy at all.
Ok, I see your angle. I agree that science and technology have had a defining impact on our society and environment. No question there. But I think that how the technology is developed and implemented is influenced by the other factors; religion, politics and economics. In fact, it is these considerations that lend an answer to your questions about why we are not moving forward.
Progress does not come from Science alone. It comes from the interaction of all of these forces. I don't think one can really boil it down to science and technology. Science and technology present challenges to our religions, economies and politics. This is what shapes and drives our society. It is the interaction, not just one facet or another. And BTW, I have a BA in psychology. So I know where you're coming from, even if you don't (joke);-P
The problem with this is that you seem to assume that all spending and government is of equal value. I'm sure you believe that some government is good, right? You know, like police, firemen, public works (roads, bridges and the like), etc. These are the public resources that are being cut, right now, for lack of funds. The problem with starving the beast is that spending cuts are often not made in an intelligent manner. The real waste, and pork get kept. Pork barrel spending never made it onto the agenda on it's merits, but because of someone's influence. That influence remains, so the spending remains. So unneeded fighter jets continue to be build while lower class children go without decent schools homes and medicine. This is bad for society. Spending cuts should be made based on careful review, not because of a financial crisis.
I can hear the response now, "but a careful review is never done, so we keep spending." There is truth to this. But the fact that we don't do it right does not justify doing it wrong.
"...science, not religion, politics or economics, is what has given us modern society and civilization..."
Whoa! If you really believe that, you need to get out of the lab more. All of those things have given us modern society and civilization, with all it's merits and flaws. If you don't think religion has given us this society, take a look at, like, half our laws. Politics? Look at how decisions that affect our society are being made in government these days. And it's not just today, take a look at ancient Rome or Greece. Economics? Look at the state of the poor in this country and in the world. Think that might have some affect on society and civilization?
The reason/. has this reaction is that we do not believe Bush is being genuine. Many people think this is a political ploy to make people think Bush is doing more than blowing stuff up and further enriching the rich. It's a sad state of affairs when realism and cynicism are so hard to differentiate. But considering Bush's track record, it's hard to take him at his word.
"No facts, just baseless accusations and conjecture."
Dude! He had multiple quotes from the Washington post to illustrate and substantiate his points! If you think this constitutes baseless accusations and conjecture you have been listening to Rush Limbaugh too long.
You are probably both. This administration makes it difficult to not be cynical. I do not think this is a serious proposal. Just like the immigrant worker proposal is not serious. Everything, and I do mean everything, that this administration does is for political gain or financial gain. There is nothing else to them. Unless you will give them money or votes they they couldn't care less. Now that's cynical!
"Had a Democrat made this announcement we would be hearing cheers instead of jeers"
Only if the Democrat had not taken us into an unnecessary war under false pretenses giving our allies the finger in the process, run up the deficit to cut top bracket taxes and pay back his contributors, rolled back environmental regulations across the board, and generally sacrificed our country and values at the altar of quarterly profits. It's not a Democrat/Republican thing. I used to be Republican (now independent) until the party was co-opted by the christian right and started caring only about people who make big campaign contributions. Now they are the party of "let them eat cake" and it's disgusting. This space initiative and the legal/illegal worker initiative are just to distract us from how much Bush is screwing us.
"some groups of people deserve to vote less than others."
Is this post serious? I'm sure you're always going to be in the group that gets to vote, right? And you'll also always get to be the one who decides who is in which group. Oh, wait, no you won't, because you're an idiot. Why don't you teach people to read before you start taking away their rights?
"I certainly don't want to be governed by someone who's been elected on the voices of people lazy enough not to learn how to read."
And I certainly don't want to be governed by someone who's been elected on the voices of people lazy enough not to learn how to form a considered and informed opinion. So what's your point?
"Freedom is always at risk so long as the major media is dominated by leftists and liberals."
That's debatable, but I think it should have read, "Freedom is always at risk so long as the major media is dominated by huge monolithic corporations with their own agenda." It just flows off the tongue, don't you think?
I give a shit about Dennis Kucinich. But I agree that he has a snowball's chance in hell. It is important though to have our elected representatives standing up to corporations. Corporations don't give a shit about you or me except as a source of revenue. When they start calling the shots in Washington, as they have begun to, it is not in the public's interest; it is in their own. And those interests are often incongruent with the public's. According to the Constitution our country belongs to it's citizens, not corporations. That's worth standing up for.
Right, cuz socialism is always bad and capitalism is always good. I mean, what kind of pinko would support things like unemployment insurance and social security and other socialist programs that honest hard-working people shouldn't have to contribute to? Hell, when have we in the tech industry ever needed unemployment? If you have little money and lose your job and your child gets sick, tough. I guess you should have been rich.
It sounds like you are saying that we are just automatons running along a predetermined track. Are you really saying that? Do you really think there is only one way things can go?
I also hold, as a personal belief, that God knows all that can and will happen from the beginning until the end of time. But this does not mean that our lives must be predetermined. Time is not linear, though it looks that way to us. We are presented with choices and divergent paths all the time. Do you think our decisions are already made? Do you feel that way?
If all is predetermined, how can we be responsible for our actions? Not just in a law enforcement kind of way, but a personal growth kind of way. If we don't have free will, what's the point?
Slashdot Mirror
Cool! Are you a parent? Just wondering how excited I should get about your impending suicide.
The sad thing is, you're probably right.
Hear Hear! I am of the opinion that Americans, by and large, take their freedom for granted. They just don't think "it could happen here". Indeed, the American system is very strong and resists infringement on freedom. But it has been said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. We need more vigilance.
And don't get me started on that liberal congress. If the Republicans controlled both houses, things would be different...
Troll...
Yeah, but your car still starts without the seatbelt fastened. Imagine how much fun it would be if your car would only run if your seatbelt were fastened...
Considering that an investigation has been started and that computers have been confiscated, I think there is probably something to it. If there were no evidence, they would not have gotten this far. The Secret Service doesn't investigate for kicks.
I will assume this is just a poor choice of words, because the Democrat or Republican parties are not part of the government. So by your logic, they should still have the expectation of privacy. But I believe that in this case the computers belonged to congressional staffers, who are of course, part of the government. Which is what I think you meant.
In which case, are you honestly arguing against computer security and data integrity for the US Government?
But what I'm thinking of is his rolling back restrictions on logging in old-growth forests and calling it the Healthy Forests initative. Or his allowing higher levels of certain pollutants and calling it Clear Skies. A big one for me though is how he sold this war. Really. Before we invaded, the reasons for doing so changed weekely. First it was that he was defying the UN (which we ended up doing ourselves, even if it wasn't a UNSC resolution). Then it was that he had weapons ready to use at a moments notice. Unmanned aerial drones attacking the US?? Come on. Then we were doing it for the Iraqi people (like we gave a flying fsck about that while we were arming Saddam and he was fighting Iran for us). Then just beacuse Saddam is a bad dude.
Now there are no weapons (uranium from Niger anyone?), no connection to Al Qaeda, and a remarkable ineptitude in cleaning up the mess we made. I just don't trust this guy at all.
Progress does not come from Science alone. It comes from the interaction of all of these forces. I don't think one can really boil it down to science and technology. Science and technology present challenges to our religions, economies and politics. This is what shapes and drives our society. It is the interaction, not just one facet or another. And BTW, I have a BA in psychology. So I know where you're coming from, even if you don't (joke) ;-P
Don't look over there...watch the swinging pendulum...
I can hear the response now, "but a careful review is never done, so we keep spending." There is truth to this. But the fact that we don't do it right does not justify doing it wrong.
Ok, I admit it. Everything Bush does I hate. But not because it's Bush doing it. It's because everything he does is just so f*cking stupid.
Whoa! If you really believe that, you need to get out of the lab more. All of those things have given us modern society and civilization, with all it's merits and flaws. If you don't think religion has given us this society, take a look at, like, half our laws. Politics? Look at how decisions that affect our society are being made in government these days. And it's not just today, take a look at ancient Rome or Greece. Economics? Look at the state of the poor in this country and in the world. Think that might have some affect on society and civilization?
The reason /. has this reaction is that we do not believe Bush is being genuine. Many people think this is a political ploy to make people think Bush is doing more than blowing stuff up and further enriching the rich. It's a sad state of affairs when realism and cynicism are so hard to differentiate. But considering Bush's track record, it's hard to take him at his word.
Dude! He had multiple quotes from the Washington post to illustrate and substantiate his points! If you think this constitutes baseless accusations and conjecture you have been listening to Rush Limbaugh too long.
You are probably both. This administration makes it difficult to not be cynical. I do not think this is a serious proposal. Just like the immigrant worker proposal is not serious. Everything, and I do mean everything, that this administration does is for political gain or financial gain. There is nothing else to them. Unless you will give them money or votes they they couldn't care less. Now that's cynical!
Only if the Democrat had not taken us into an unnecessary war under false pretenses giving our allies the finger in the process, run up the deficit to cut top bracket taxes and pay back his contributors, rolled back environmental regulations across the board, and generally sacrificed our country and values at the altar of quarterly profits. It's not a Democrat/Republican thing. I used to be Republican (now independent) until the party was co-opted by the christian right and started caring only about people who make big campaign contributions. Now they are the party of "let them eat cake" and it's disgusting. This space initiative and the legal/illegal worker initiative are just to distract us from how much Bush is screwing us.
You're damn right they'd sell us the air we breathe! They already sell us the water we drink...
Is this post serious? I'm sure you're always going to be in the group that gets to vote, right? And you'll also always get to be the one who decides who is in which group. Oh, wait, no you won't, because you're an idiot. Why don't you teach people to read before you start taking away their rights?
"I certainly don't want to be governed by someone who's been elected on the voices of people lazy enough not to learn how to read."
And I certainly don't want to be governed by someone who's been elected on the voices of people lazy enough not to learn how to form a considered and informed opinion. So what's your point?
Oh, right! Genocide! Now there's a tactic we should bring back. It is certainly effective.
"...this country doesn't raise sheep."
Well then they must have come from somewhere else, because I'm surrounded by them.
That's debatable, but I think it should have read, "Freedom is always at risk so long as the major media is dominated by huge monolithic corporations with their own agenda." It just flows off the tongue, don't you think?
I give a shit about Dennis Kucinich. But I agree that he has a snowball's chance in hell. It is important though to have our elected representatives standing up to corporations. Corporations don't give a shit about you or me except as a source of revenue. When they start calling the shots in Washington, as they have begun to, it is not in the public's interest; it is in their own. And those interests are often incongruent with the public's. According to the Constitution our country belongs to it's citizens, not corporations. That's worth standing up for.
Right, cuz socialism is always bad and capitalism is always good. I mean, what kind of pinko would support things like unemployment insurance and social security and other socialist programs that honest hard-working people shouldn't have to contribute to? Hell, when have we in the tech industry ever needed unemployment? If you have little money and lose your job and your child gets sick, tough. I guess you should have been rich.
I also hold, as a personal belief, that God knows all that can and will happen from the beginning until the end of time. But this does not mean that our lives must be predetermined. Time is not linear, though it looks that way to us. We are presented with choices and divergent paths all the time. Do you think our decisions are already made? Do you feel that way?
If all is predetermined, how can we be responsible for our actions? Not just in a law enforcement kind of way, but a personal growth kind of way. If we don't have free will, what's the point?