December 2010
November 2010
McCain Attacks DADT Study →
“You and I have not seen that study,” McCain replied, and referred to military leaders who have expressed reservations or continue to actively support “don’t ask, don’t tell” — namely Marine Corps commandant James Amos, whose recent comments opposing repeal have frustrated Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an advocate for ending the 17-year-old...
An Interview With WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange →
Learn about the man Hillary Clinton and Representative Peter King would like you to believe is a terrorist.
Congressman wants WikiLeaks listed as terrorist... →
The incoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says WikiLeaks should be officially designated as a terrorist organization.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the panel’s next head, asked the Obama administration today to “determine whether WikiLeaks could be designated a foreign terrorist organization,” putting the group in the same company as Al Qaeda and Aum...
“The president of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be...”
– Sam Harris (via tmblg)
This.
“I made this change to Diaspora so that I won’t alienate anyone I love before...”
– Sarah Mei » Disalienation: Why Gender is a Text Field on Diaspora
Suddenly, I am vastly more interested in Diaspora than I was ten minutes ago. Way to go, awesome people.
“They believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in...”
– Thomas Jefferson - Wikiquote
From a letter from Jefferson to Doctor Benjamin Rush. “They” were members of the clergy of various Christian sects who wished the establishment of some form of Christianity as the official religion of the United States government. So much for the idea that...
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WatchThere are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect, even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is there is something terribly...
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A question for the Christian right:
Aren’t the invasions of modesty and marriage posed by the new TSA scans and patdowns more dangerous to your immortal soul than the incredibly rare threat of mortal danger posed by terrorists? Why aren’t you speaking out against this?
Ritual sacrifice… with pie.
Buffy: With Mom at Aunt Darlene's this year, I'm not getting a Thanksgiving. Maybe it's just as well.
Anya: Well, I think that's a shame. I love a ritual sacrifice.
Buffy: It's not really a one of those.
Anya: To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It's a ritual sacrifice. With pie.
Robert Dean Sues TSA, Claims Pat-Down Violates His... →
Filing for an injunction will stop these types of invasive measures until we can get a ruling on the constitutionality of this,” Dean said.
Good man. Hope he’s already contacted the ACLU and other organisations for help.
“A crazed bit actor wielding an ornate Freemason sword hacked his mother to death...”
– ‘Ugly Betty’ Actor Allegedly Kills Mother With 3-Foot Sword While Screaming ‘Repent’
Sorry about the Fox link, but… wow. I blame religion.
“When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most...”
– George Bernard Shaw on marriage
“First, a majority of the folks on the planet either have no idea how a computer...”
– Rands In Repose: The Nerd Handbook
Harry Potter series from Hermione's point of view:
nuclearmedicine:
Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A...
You Don't Need to See His Identification – NO... →
And then came the most ridiculous scene of which I’ve ever been a part. I gather my things – jacket, scarf, hat, briefcase, chocolates. We walk over to the staff entrance and he scans his badge to let me through. We walk down the long hallway that led back to the baggage claim area. We skip the escalators and moving walkways. As we walk, there are TSA officials stationed at apparent checkpoints...
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National Geographic's Photography Contest 2010 -... →
Each one of these photographs is absolutely breathtaking. Take the time to look at all of them.
Are airport X-ray scanners harmful? →
Peter Rez, a physics professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, did his own calculations and found the exposure to be about one-fiftieth to one-hundredth the amount of a standard chest X-ray. He calculated the risk of getting cancer from a single scan at about 1 in 30 million, “which puts it somewhat less than being killed by being struck by lightning in any one year,” he told...
Another TSA Outrage | RedState →
This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols.
So we’re in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers....
“I had told her on the phone that I was leaving for Chicago “around...”
– Penn & Teller | ROAD PENN
The follow-up to the Penn & Teller piece that’s been making the rounds. This one cost him a lot of the respect I had for him; calling police officers and other government peace officers “pigs” is nothing but vitriolic rhetoric that polarises...
Penn & Teller on TSA Gate Rape
clapifyoulikeme:
insooutso:
“Finish up, and then call the police please.”
When he was finished with my shoes, he said, “Okay, you can go.”
I said, “I’d like to see your supervisor and I’d like LVPD to come here as well. I was assaulted by you.”
He said, “You’re free to go, there’s no problem.”
I said, “I have a problem, please send someone over.”
Here.
Ah, how delightful to...
“Mr. Speaker, today I introduce legislation to protect Americans from physical...”
– Introducing the American Traveler Dignity Act
I don’t agree with Ron Paul on everything, but this time he’s got it exactly right.
“So, why do you write these strong women characters?
Because equality is not a...”
– Joss Whedon, Equality Now (via politicallyreligious)
The guy who taught the ExCo class on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer at my college maintained that Buffy was anti-feminist and that we should hold Whedon accountable for his anti-feminism. I would like to show him this.
Should Gay TSA Agents Be Barred from Giving... →
unburyingthelead:
Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano went out of her way yesterday to stress that the TSA pat-downs are “same-gender” – mostly to reassure women that men will not be groping them at airports in the name of safety.
“But what about homosexual TSA agents?” AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera responded. “Isn’t it just as inappropriate for a ‘gay’ male TSA agent to pat down...
“The supervisor says to the cop, ‘He’s free to go. We have no problem, you don’t...”
–
Penn Jillette, the louder half of Penn & Teller, recounts his experience with the TSA in 2002. From later in the piece: “Freedom is kind of a hobby with me, and I have disposable income that I’ll spend to find out how to get people more of it.”
Penn is one of the good ones.
(edit: Oops, this...
Obama Administration Claims Unchecked Authority To... →
The Obama administration today argued before a federal court that it should have unreviewable authority to kill Americans the executive branch has unilaterally determined to pose a threat.
Dear government: this is not a discussion we are having. Your purview is protecting American citizens. If you want to do the other thing, you become the enemy of the American people.
Governments that become...