k wrote:
I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but it seems to me that spending time working through the logistics of circumventing a bad piece of legislation that hasn't even passed yet to be a little like putting the cart before the horse.

This is still a political concern and the solution seems like it ought to be likewise. E.g. write your senator and congressperson, raise awareness (i recognize this is happening to some degree organically, since i just found out about it, but nonetheless), etc.

Have we become so cynical about the likelihood of being listened to that we assume bullshit laws will be passed and jump straight to figuring out how to get around them?

Apparently we ought to be. A version of this bill was rushed through the house Wednesday without following the usual processes. It presents a potentially unintended consequence that individual people who run wifi or other networks are now legally obligated to report child pornography. Because the definition of child pornography is so vauge you are better off reporting than not reporting if you see anything remotely suspicious.

Whats even more frustrating is that this bill seems to have apologists. George Ou says:

The bill in question... would enact huge fines for any... home users with open Access Points who fails to report child pornography users.

I must admit after reading that story I was pretty furious...

Then he turns around and says:

So as you can see, no one is going to be required to monitor their infrastructure.

You are right George. No one is required to monitor anything. However, if you have a wifi network at home and you have a bunch of friends over and you notice that one of them has hentai videos on their laptop, you could face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines if you fail to report them to the police. Thats probably not what the people who crafted this bill intended, but thats the law they passed, because they aren't paying attention and they basically don't know what they are doing.

Child Pornography is a serious problem, but when Congress continually passes poorly crafted legislation with overbroad definitions and seeks to compell the entire country to enlist in a stazi like network they aren't taking the problem seriously. They are taking advantage of the problem to promote themselves, and they are doing violence to our Constitution in the process.

RE: Thought Crime

It is this order to choose Allah above his sense of conscience and compassion that imprisons the Muslim in a mindset that is archaic and extreme.

If moderate Muslims believe there should be no compassion shown to the girl from Qatif, then what exactly makes them so moderate?

When a “moderate” Muslim’s sense of compassion and conscience collides with matters prescribed by Allah, he should choose compassion. Unless that happens much more widely, a moderate Islam will remain wishful thinking.

Islam’s Silent Moderates - New York Times

Stefanie wrote:
Then again, I typically disagree with the Libertarian Party candidates on a couple of key issues, too. Point is, I wouldn't dismiss any candidate just for being imperfect.

I'm starting to get very critical of Paul. The language he uses is attractive to a lot of my friends and I don't think they should be supporting him. I think that they want to beleive that there is this person who is principled and beleives in individual freedom, but I don't think he actually shares the values that many of his supporters have.

He doesn't beleive the things that his supporters say he beleives.

People say that he is not anti-immigration, he is only against illegal immigration, but he has sponsored bills in the house this year that are targetted at legal immigrants and create substantial financial barriers for them.

He says he beleives in individual freedom, but his positions support the absolute power of state and local governments to impinge on Constitutionally protected rights.

In reality he is not a libertarian, he is a paleo-conservative. He wants to undo the financial structures created in response to the great depression, he wants to undo the international relationships that were created in response to the first and second world wars, and he wants to undo the civil liberties advances that were the product of the civil war. He wants to go back to the way things were in the 1830's wholesale, completely ignoring any and all hard lessons that we've learned along the way, and resurrecting numerous extremely evil systems in the process.

This is not just "imperfect" and I'm tired of hearing from apologists that we won't have the power to implement his entire agenda. His campaign is dangerous.

RE: The Volokh Conspiracy - Ron Paul on Racism

noteworthy wrote:
With every passing day, Johnathan Rapley's conception of the New Middle Ages seems increasingly likely.

I don't follow how this comment relates to the context. Most of the news out of Iraq seems positive. Of course its complicated and fragile, but clearly this is progress. Worrying that too many refugees might return is a good problem to have.

I also don't understand George Packer's comment that these developments were "unanticipated by almost everyone on the American side of the looking glass." These are precisely the kinds of changes that were hoped for as a result of the surge.

I further don't understand why the Democrats are still calling for immediate withdrawl. Putting more troops in (in a calculated way) reduced the violence. As I've said before I think this is exactly what Kerry planned to do. The tactics change was clearly a product of the Democrat's electoral victory in 2006. The fact that there is a chance for peace should not vindicate the decision to launch this extremely bloody conflict in any way. All in all, this should be seen as a political ad tactical victory for the center left. Unfortunately, the left seems to have married itself too closely to over simplified prowar vs. antiwar rhetoric. The fact is that the situation is fragile and calls for immediate withdrawl are not rooted in a careful assessment of the situation.

There is a big problem though. Kucinich has been raising some interesting questions about the privatization of Iraq's oil. I don't have a good linkable reference, but I'll post one when I find it. He might actually have a point, but no one is listening, and unfortunately a discussion of what people are doing with oil also fits too easily into over simplified rhetoric and so the issue has a good chance of staying ignored.

RE: Must Read: Iraq Round-Up

noteworthy wrote:
I own the book and have read in it, but I have never finished it. The Pulitzer Prize speaks to the merits of the book.

There are many great books that collect dust on my shelf. The Pulitzer Prize may speak to a book's merit, but the fact that you haven't finished it speaks to its power.

The tale of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and its followers cuts to the heart of the one of the thorniest questions in religious studies: What defines a religion? Does it require a genuine theological belief? Or simply a set of rituals and a community joining together as a way of signaling their cultural alliances to others? In short, is an anti-religion like Flying Spaghetti Monsterism actually a religion?

Religious scholars mull Flying Spaghetti Monster - CNN.com

"In focus groups, the biggest thing they said to us was it made them safer, because if you are in a public space you know someone's watching."

The parade of horrors presented nightly by sensationalistic local television news has scared a certain segment of the population from leaving their living rooms, and its warm, glowing advertisement display. Now these people, the most paranoid in our society, have been armed with the power to spy on the actions of the rest of us and report those activities to the police! I'm sure its thrilling to think that from the comfort of their couches they can participate in law enforcement! This is how you build a network of informers and snitches!

Home snoop CCTV more popular than Big Brother | The Register

Just 10 years ago, the proposed merger of SABMiller and Molson Coors into MillerCoors would have worried craft brewers. Back then, "American beer" was thought of as a cheap product with very little beer flavor.

Today the United States has by far the most exciting beer culture in the world, and America's 1,500 craft brewers are undaunted by the prospect of a juggernaut that would have more than 30 percent of the domestic market. The age of American industrial brewing is over.
...
Now Americans are moving away from spongy industrial bread, watery coffee, plasticized "cheese" and other wonders of modern food science. The top maker of white supermarket bread went bankrupt a few years ago.

ubernoir says:
just as France turns more American
let's celebrate something French
quality of life

I'll drink to that!

Don't fear Big Beer - International Herald Tribune

Talking to my daughter about search engines and the necessity for a 10-year-old to question texts online led me to think that computer literacy programs that left out critical thinking were missing an important point. But I discovered when I talked to teachers in my local schools that "critical thinking" is regarded by some as a plot to incite children to question authority. At that point, I saw education - the means by which young people learn the skills necessary to succeed in their place and time - as diverging from schooling.

See also these posts from the archive:

If indeed the Web and microprocessors have brought us to the doorstep of a Marshall McLuhan-meets-Milton Friedman world of individual choice as a personal ideology, then record companies, newspapers and old TV networks aren't the only empires at risk. Public-school systems run by static teachers unions may find themselves abandoned by young parents, "accessing" K-8 education in unforeseen ways.

Don't use the word "fun" to describe what will go on in the Game School, a proposed New York City public school that will use "game design and game-inspired methods" to educate sixth through 12th graders.

The school day should be split in two. The first half is what you might call a required, common curriculum, taught by schools. The second half is an individual curriculum in which many outside organizations take part -- work organizations, community organizations. These activities may be organized by the school, but they may or may not take place in school. The school becomes a kind of broker for learning.

"We must allow our students to ask why, not just keep on telling them how."

Homeland security efforts through magnet safe haven programs are a significant part of our Nation's effort to achieve victory in the war on terror and help to ensure equal martyrdom opportunities for all terrorists.

The 75 students in the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness magnet program will study cybersecurity and geospatial intelligence, respond to mock terror attacks, and receive limited security clearances at the nearby Army chemical warfare lab. Students will choose one of three specialized tracks: information and communication technology, criminal justice and law enforcement, or "homeland security science." David Volrath, executive director of secondary education for Harford County Public Schools, says the school also hopes to offer "Arabic or some other nontraditional, Third World-type language." "The school's built around the marketplace that surrounds the defense industry, but the program's not involved in war or peace. Still, there are some realities about good guys and bad guys that will surely be discussed."

Howard Rheingold, on schooling

skullaria wrote:
Maybe in a world 60 years ago witches were fictional characters, but today there is a large group of people who claim ownership of that term (many of whom I call friend.)

I recall when I was in high school we wrote a play which contained the words "that sucks!" We performed the play for students and parents, who mostly seemed to enjoy it. The next morning we were informed that the school had received widespread complaints from parents about references to oral sex in our play. We had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Someone literally had to spell it out for us. In retrospect I'm still not sure their outrage makes any sense. It seems more likely that the use of the word "sucks" in a disparaging way is more likely a product of the old expression "sucks eggs" than a reference to oral sex.

For a more clear example, consider the fact that in Italy, giving someone the "thumbs up" literally means the same thing that giving someone "the finger" means here. If you go to Italy, and you are not aware of this, and you give someone the "thumbs up," are you guilty of attempting to offend them? Obviously not.

That fact that you've misinterpreted my words and also taken offense at them does not make me guilty of being offensive. If I did not intend to offend you, then what I said was not offensive. The offense occured in your mind and not in my expression. Someone who has never heard of Wicca (which is, frankly, nearly everyone) cannot possibly be thought guilty of a hate crime for hanging a witch. Such offense is just as ridiculous as conservative christians who oppose the celebration of halloween because they argue that it promotes witchcraft! Halloween is a game for children. Its not serious, and it is silly to take it seriously.

RE: Halloween decoration or hate crime?