Granted, he gets marginalized, ignored, and tagged as 'unelectable', but go back and listen to what he's said, over and over, about SOPA/PIPA. He was scathing in his attacks on those bills, and never changed his tune.
At this point it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the establishment won't let him anywhere near the Republican ticket in November, but I'm tired of people claiming there's not a good choice to be had.
Looks like the root cause was that there were some spam/phishing forms hosted through Jotform. Jotform stated that they try to keep the site free of this crap, and suspended around 65,000 accounts last year for phishing offenses.
It's still a horseshit call, especially by GoDaddy, but at least some more info is starting to get out.
The initial scan showed an 'anomaly' in an area on one of his legs. Senator Paul then proceeded to lift up his pant leg to show them the area highlighted by the scan, basically saying "Oh, the man-sized microwave says there's something weird right here? Let's look right here then." TSA was not appeased by his showing them bare skin in the EXACT SPOT where the scan claimed there might be something dodgy, and instead wanted to give him the third-base treatment. When Rand replied, in essence, that he was saving himself for marriage, they took umbrage and detained him, making him miss his flight.
Paul went beyond a pat-down, baring skin to show the TSA that there was nothing there, and yet they still wanted to touch his naughty bits.
Everyone bitches about how corrupt the government is, but so few have seen fit to posit a solution to the corruption, apart from more government, AKA campaign finance reform.
I think the better solution is to take power away from the centralized government, push it back closer to home, and leave the Congress/Senate with the bare-bones authorities that they should have.
If Congress no longer has the power to grant the favors sought, the money will dry up and we may get some worthwhile representation. I'm not saying that the MPAA/RIAA are geniuses, but even with their shady accounting they should be able to recognize this losing proposition.
Nah, there's no way he could win, unless people stop to listen to what he has to say, scrutinize his voting record, read his books, and actually take their responsibility as voters seriously.
Yeah, not so much in agreement here. Your comment, whether rightly so or not, reminded me of the push to pass Obamacare. No one could claim to have read the whole thing, and at one point we were told that we would have to pass it to find out what's in it.
If the Dems do understand the implications and still want this in any shape or form, what does that say about their opinions on liberty in general? I don't see any way to fix this, it's just giving the ban hammer to big content, a bigger hammer than the ones they already have.
Don't wish for a complete democracy, at least not one where people can vote to fund all the things, and then suddenly freak out when they realize that this shit costs money.
Like it or not, we need some buffer between the people and the treasury. What we have at present is utter shit, but straight up mob rule would end badly, methinks.
Heed the words of agent K: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 17 Oct 2011 @ 12:59pm
Looks like some commenters (puts on sunglasses)
Aren't so Swift.
YEEEAAAAH!!
The ready availability of Irish child pornography is especially troubling, as it serves to objectify what could otherwise be pristine source of food for the millions of starving. English children have to be told often enough not to play with their food, now we run the risk of having to constantly remind them not to fantasize about their food as well.
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 9 Jun 2011 @ 11:30am
Farming out innovation.
It's frustrating to watch Apple's treatment of their 3rd party devs. Looking at the updates to iOS 5, they're trying to squeeze out a number of successful apps by rolling their functionality into iOS itself. I'm wondering if they will suddenly swing a retroactive banhammer since these apps now duplicate existing functionality, though a formal removal isn't really necessary to kill any future downloads.
Very smooth Apple, letting others innovate for you, and then simply copying their core functionality for your next OS iteration.
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 3 Nov 2010 @ 10:41am
Re:
I'll agree that it's a very unsavory situation, but I doubt very much that she, or her publicity team, truly want to move past it or forget it, at least not completely. I think they wan to get just far enough past it that no one can freely access the video or pics, but still keep it close enough to improve her name recognition.
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 3 Nov 2010 @ 10:38am
Re: Re: Awesome.
She tried, and managed to swing a stint on Dancing With the Stars. Granted, that show is severely lacking in the 'Stars' department, but I doubt she would've gotten the call if she hadn't been plastered all over the news because of this video.
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 12:08pm
Re: Re: Re:
"Your argument here ignores the fact that they already have one input."
No, my argument is that, if a student is given an input, and asked to react to that input, then a reaction based on that input and no other sources will truly be the student's reaction. One response to one stimulus, enabling a teacher to see how well a student structures an argument when the ground rules are firmly established and followed, and also how well the student understands the subject matter, in and of itself.
The vacuum doesn't exist here because what I'm talking about is a conversation between teacher and pupil, the subject of which is the textbook.
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:59am
Re: Re: I'll admit, I kinda like this.
Formalism might be a solid way to go if we could get a decent source text (I kid).
I still don't think that this is a downgrading of teaching, I think it's just a shift in what is being taught. I'm a liberal arts guy, so I love to argue, and I guess that's what I'm imagining this course to be. Teacher gives assignment "What do you think about this?", and student has to tell the teacher what they think about it, as opposed to quoting what others think about it.
I think that, since we're dealing with high school sophomores in this case, I am right to distrust a fair number of the kids this would influence. I remember me at 15, and I was a bastard.
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:47am
Re: Re: Re: Re:
The entire history of Human civilization to draw from, and you went the Nazi route. I'm just saying that Godwin's law struck again, and this time, you were its agent.
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:45am
Re: Re: Re:
I think we're seeing this class differently. I don't see it as indoctrination in one party's view of history, I see it as an introduction to critical thought and analysis. History is only the sandbox they play in. This is a college-level course, so I'm assuming the coursework is more advanced and focused on analysis and argument rather than name and date regurge.
In a closed system, you can argue convincingly for an erroneous fact. That doesn't make it true, it just means that you can argue well. It's not about the stance you take, it's about how well you can defend the stance you take. If these kids can learn how to defend a point in this sandbox, then they will be better equipped to defend good points, as well as to expose bullshit, in the real world.
Eponymous Coward, AKA Doug (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:39am
Re: Just because the site's called TechDirt
Nope, I still don't see it that way.
You see control, a teacher limiting a student's options. I see a teacher forcing students {students who will seek herd approval via facebook before buying shoes and will not deviate from the concensus opinion} to take an intellectual stand and say "this is what I think" without tent-poling it to hell and back with outside references or checking with BFF's to see if they got the same answer. If the student has a well-formed idea/argument, they get good marks, and if they don't, they don't.
You see less knowledge, students somehow diminished by the inability to quote Brittanica Online. I see a class full of kids quite possibly scared shitless at the prospect of having to make up their mind and stand by their decision, and then I see those kids growing more confident in the idea that they can make something that is their own, and liking the feeling of creating new knowledge instead of quoting others' words.
On the post: Obama Administration: ACTA Is Binding & Don't Worry Your Pretty Little Heads About TPP
Re:
Granted, he gets marginalized, ignored, and tagged as 'unelectable', but go back and listen to what he's said, over and over, about SOPA/PIPA. He was scathing in his attacks on those bills, and never changed his tune.
At this point it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the establishment won't let him anywhere near the Republican ticket in November, but I'm tired of people claiming there's not a good choice to be had.
On the post: US Returns JotForm.com Domain; Still Refuses To Say What Happened
Looks like the root cause was that there were some spam/phishing forms hosted through Jotform. Jotform stated that they try to keep the site free of this crap, and suspended around 65,000 accounts last year for phishing offenses.
It's still a horseshit call, especially by GoDaddy, but at least some more info is starting to get out.
On the post: TSA Critic, Senator Rand Paul, Prevented By TSA From Getting On His Flight To DC
Re:
Paul went beyond a pat-down, baring skin to show the TSA that there was nothing there, and yet they still wanted to touch his naughty bits.
On the post: Are Democrats About To Lose An Entire Generation Of Voters By Pushing PIPA/SOPA Forward?
Just gonna throw this out there
I think the better solution is to take power away from the centralized government, push it back closer to home, and leave the Congress/Senate with the bare-bones authorities that they should have.
If Congress no longer has the power to grant the favors sought, the money will dry up and we may get some worthwhile representation. I'm not saying that the MPAA/RIAA are geniuses, but even with their shady accounting they should be able to recognize this losing proposition.
On the post: Are Democrats About To Lose An Entire Generation Of Voters By Pushing PIPA/SOPA Forward?
Re:
NYT link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/technology/indictment-charges-megaupload-site-with-piracy.html
On the post: Are Democrats About To Lose An Entire Generation Of Voters By Pushing PIPA/SOPA Forward?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Prediction
On the post: Are Democrats About To Lose An Entire Generation Of Voters By Pushing PIPA/SOPA Forward?
Re: They don't get it
If the Dems do understand the implications and still want this in any shape or form, what does that say about their opinions on liberty in general? I don't see any way to fix this, it's just giving the ban hammer to big content, a bigger hammer than the ones they already have.
On the post: Are Democrats About To Lose An Entire Generation Of Voters By Pushing PIPA/SOPA Forward?
Re: Re: Yesterday was only the beginning
Like it or not, we need some buffer between the people and the treasury. What we have at present is utter shit, but straight up mob rule would end badly, methinks.
Heed the words of agent K: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."
On the post: British Historian On Porn And Internet Censorship: North Korea Is Right -- The Internet Is Our Enemy
Looks like some commenters (puts on sunglasses)
YEEEAAAAH!!
The ready availability of Irish child pornography is especially troubling, as it serves to objectify what could otherwise be pristine source of food for the millions of starving. English children have to be told often enough not to play with their food, now we run the risk of having to constantly remind them not to fantasize about their food as well.
On the post: Apple Threatens Wireless Industry Group For Daring To List Out Other App Stores
Farming out innovation.
Very smooth Apple, letting others innovate for you, and then simply copying their core functionality for your next OS iteration.
On the post: Molecular Biologist Highlights Serious Safety Concerns Over TSA Scanners
Lovely choice
Great, so I can either have my junk irradiated to the point of it becoming useless, or, if I decline the scan, I can have some TSA perv grope my junk.
Either way, our collective testes deserve better.
On the post: Erin Andrews Trying To Takedown Nude Images Using Copyright She 'Bought'
Re:
On the post: Erin Andrews Trying To Takedown Nude Images Using Copyright She 'Bought'
Re: Re: Awesome.
On the post: Virginia High School Says Barring Students From Doing Outside Research Helps Them 'Think For Themselves'
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Nicely put, though.
On the post: Virginia High School Says Barring Students From Doing Outside Research Helps Them 'Think For Themselves'
Re: Re: Re:
No, my argument is that, if a student is given an input, and asked to react to that input, then a reaction based on that input and no other sources will truly be the student's reaction. One response to one stimulus, enabling a teacher to see how well a student structures an argument when the ground rules are firmly established and followed, and also how well the student understands the subject matter, in and of itself.
The vacuum doesn't exist here because what I'm talking about is a conversation between teacher and pupil, the subject of which is the textbook.
On the post: Virginia High School Says Barring Students From Doing Outside Research Helps Them 'Think For Themselves'
Re: Re: I'll admit, I kinda like this.
I still don't think that this is a downgrading of teaching, I think it's just a shift in what is being taught. I'm a liberal arts guy, so I love to argue, and I guess that's what I'm imagining this course to be. Teacher gives assignment "What do you think about this?", and student has to tell the teacher what they think about it, as opposed to quoting what others think about it.
I think that, since we're dealing with high school sophomores in this case, I am right to distrust a fair number of the kids this would influence. I remember me at 15, and I was a bastard.
On the post: Virginia High School Says Barring Students From Doing Outside Research Helps Them 'Think For Themselves'
Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Virginia High School Says Barring Students From Doing Outside Research Helps Them 'Think For Themselves'
Re: Re: Re:
In a closed system, you can argue convincingly for an erroneous fact. That doesn't make it true, it just means that you can argue well. It's not about the stance you take, it's about how well you can defend the stance you take. If these kids can learn how to defend a point in this sandbox, then they will be better equipped to defend good points, as well as to expose bullshit, in the real world.
On the post: Virginia High School Says Barring Students From Doing Outside Research Helps Them 'Think For Themselves'
Re: Just because the site's called TechDirt
You see control, a teacher limiting a student's options. I see a teacher forcing students {students who will seek herd approval via facebook before buying shoes and will not deviate from the concensus opinion} to take an intellectual stand and say "this is what I think" without tent-poling it to hell and back with outside references or checking with BFF's to see if they got the same answer. If the student has a well-formed idea/argument, they get good marks, and if they don't, they don't.
You see less knowledge, students somehow diminished by the inability to quote Brittanica Online. I see a class full of kids quite possibly scared shitless at the prospect of having to make up their mind and stand by their decision, and then I see those kids growing more confident in the idea that they can make something that is their own, and liking the feeling of creating new knowledge instead of quoting others' words.
The more I defend this, the more I like it.
On the post: Virginia High School Says Barring Students From Doing Outside Research Helps Them 'Think For Themselves'
Re: Re:
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