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Messages - Golden Applesauce

#1711
^5s back!
#1712
Quote from: Requiem on March 26, 2008, 01:23:40 AM
How come I always end up enemies with whoever is in charge?

This is a sign you might be a Discordian.  Or a disagreeable little snot.
#1713
Or, um, a gun?

Stronger soldiers => can carry more stuff => heavier machine guns
#1714
I was under the impression that Kerry lost because nobody new much about him other than that he wasn't Bush.  He got painted as a politician (probably true) and Bush got painted as The Decider.

I could be wrong, that was the first election I really payed any attention too.
#1715
One of the (many) grade schools I went to kept different grade students together for most subjects.  I.e., my fourth grade class also had fifth graders in it, and my fifth grade class had third and fourth graders as well.

Mostly what I remember was that some of the third graders were total assholes and that it was very hard not to punch them in the face.



You have a point though, children need role models.  More mature children and adults need to be present and need to engage the children.  Things like sports teams or other extracurriculars that mix age groups can help with this, both because they expose children to slightly older children and to the coaches and leaders, who are usually either parents or high school / college kids.

I do think that in high school the freshman who hung out with the upperclassmen grew up faster, not sure if the more mentally mature freshman gravitated towards the upperclassmen or if the upperclassmen influenced them.
#1716
GASM Command / Re: AbbyGasm
March 25, 2008, 05:24:11 PM
The key will be to make it sound bad enough to get her attention but good enough that some people will want to learn more.
#1717
ONLY YUO CAN PREVENT THREAD ZOMBIFICATION!!1!
#1718
My physics prof. told us something similar, although he didn't use many of those terms.

I think it went something like this:
All of us are constantly building a model of the world, just like scientists build models like Newtonian Mechanics or Special Relativity or The Standard Model, using experiences as our experimental evidence.  Some people's models are different because they use different evidence or weight their evidence differently.  Some people's models don't closely match reality and have little predictive power, some do.  Some people have many different models for use in different situations.  The difference between the truly wise and everybody else is that the wise recognize that all they have is a model, and not the world itself.

I actually projected a lot of my own opinion into that.  Oh well.
#1719
Humanity isn't in genetics.

If it was, than our space colonists could exterminate/enslave/exploit any intelligent life they found on the grounds that alien life doesn't use DNA.  You're just setting us up to repeat everything that was wrong about colonialism!

One could make the argument that some especially intelligent animals (elephants, cetaceans, other great apes and some monkeys) are self-aware enough to warrant some human rights as well.
#1720
GASM Command / AbbyGasm
March 25, 2008, 03:49:16 PM
Dear Abby
P.O. Box 69440
Los Angeles
CA 90069

I am sure we can get this woman to publish in national (international? do any brits/aussies get Dear Abby?) papers a letter about a friend who recently joined this "cult" called Discordja.

I'll write up a letter to show what I'm thinking later today.
#1721
Or Kill Me / Re: Rev Roger, Year of the Rat #7
March 25, 2008, 06:17:35 AM
Quote from: HR 1955 RFS`(m) Public Meetings-

            `(1) IN GENERAL- The Commission shall hold public hearings and meetings to the extent appropriate.

            `(2) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION- Any public hearings of the Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the protection of information provided to or developed for or by the Commission as required by any applicable statute, regulation, or Executive order including subsection (i)(2)(B).

--

            `(6) EMPHASIS ON SECURITY CLEARANCES- The Commission shall make it a priority to hire as employees and retain as contractors and detailees individuals otherwise authorized by this section who have active security clearances.

I'll take this to mean that they'll keep their meetings public except when the might want to discuss information that is important to national security.  And here's a hint: The goal of the commission would be to write a report about national security.  I expect many things from my government.  Transparency is not one of them anymore.
#1722
Or Kill Me / Re: Rev Roger, Year of the Rat #7
March 25, 2008, 05:45:39 AM
Wikipedia has an article on the Federal Advisory Committee Act with links to its fulll text. 

I think the most relevant bit of the FACA is that it requires that all advisory meetings be public, while the Homegrown Terrorist Act seems to imply that some of the meetings could be classified - and states that where possible members should have security clearances.  The public will get copies of all its reports, which is better than nothing, I guess.

But you're right - the real test is to see what kind of bill you need to create a monster like the Unamerican Activities Commission.  The bill does empower the committee it creates to hold hearings; does that include the ability to force testimony?  (I'm no legal expert.)

I'm using H.R. 1955 RFS (referred to Senate.)  I think this is the most recent version?
#1723
Or Kill Me / Re: Rev Roger, Year of the Rat #7
March 25, 2008, 04:22:19 AM
Quote from: H.R. 1955SEC. 899A. DEFINITIONS.

      `For purposes of this subtitle:

            `(1) COMMISSION- The term `Commission' means the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism established under section 899C.

            `(2) VIOLENT RADICALIZATION- The term `violent radicalization' means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.

            `(3) HOMEGROWN TERRORISM- The term `homegrown terrorism' means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

            `(4) IDEOLOGICALLY BASED VIOLENCE- The term `ideologically based violence' means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual's political, religious, or social beliefs.

The definitions are only for the purpose of the act.  And it doesn't just say promoting, it says using, planning to use, or threatening to use violence to promote.  So if you promote ELF by bombing (or planning to bomb or threatening to bomb) somebody, you're a terrorist.

#1724
Or Kill Me / Re: Rev Roger, Year of the Rat #7
March 25, 2008, 01:09:19 AM
This board needs a smiley of someone weasel wrangling.
#1725
Bring and Brag / Re: tick
March 24, 2008, 11:48:14 PM
 :mittens: