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December 22, 2016 It's actually quite straightforward: Video that explains how to become a dictator. I seem to be having a little trouble with working up the stomach to post things. The news is disheartening. I keep waiting to see some indication that things will not be as bad as I thought, but so far, every single step in the Drumphery has shown that, yes indeed, things are just exactly as bad as I thought. So I will try to keep perspective and perhaps mostly post things that are "interesting." Mostly. Science and Tech:
November 12, 2016 Holy Shit. Six Rules for Surviving in an Autocracy: Rule #1: Believe the autocrat. He means what he says. If he says he's going to jail his opponents, then that's what he will try to do. If he says people who failed to support him will be "very, very sorry," you can count on it. If he says he is going to take away your heath insurance, get ready to be uninsured. Rule #2: Do not be taken in by small signs of normality. You are going to witness a series of "One step forward, Ten Steps Back" maneuvers that will leave your head spinning. For every "Regular Party" man appointed, there will be a dozen extreme loyalists and sycophants who will do his absolute bidding without qualm or question. For every sane policy proposed, there will be a dozen implementations of autocracy. Rule #3: Institutions will not save you. They are being taken over. Rule #4:
Be outraged. And stay that way, and don't stop,
until you get your country back. Rule #5:
Don’t make compromises. Selling your soul to the Devil always
works out great -- for the Devil. Rule #6:
Remember the future.
Nothing lasts forever. Be prepared to step up and take part
when it's time. Because it will be,
starting tomorrow. October 10, 2016 My goodness, where did the last two months go? Time files when you have a presidential campaign circling the drain. Since I let this go for so long, rather than doing lots of additional explanations, I'll just let most of the headlines speak for themselves. Science:
Tech, Culture and Daily Life:
First off, be very careful when carrying even a modest amount of cash. If you are searched by police, either justly or unjustly, there is a strong chance they will confiscate cash. And chances are, you'll never get it back. Anything more than the amount of money you'd need to pay for your next meal is in jeopardy. The same goes for anything of value, actually; cars, electronics, homes, and in fact any personal possessions which are easily sold for quick cash. It can be confiscated.
August 9, 2016 Registered yet? Know where to go? Our Massive Project: How to Vote in Every State which leads you to the actual list of all fifty states: How to Vote in Every State Stop watching voter polls. They DO NOT tell you how the election will go. The only polls to look at are the Electoral College Polls, because that's who actually elects the president. Electoral Math -- The Best Way To Track The Race Here's the best site to watch: ElectoralVote July 13, 2016 This Blog is now a Windows-free zone. The current issue on your screen was produced on the latest Ubuntu OS, using Seamonkey. (Ubuntu version 16.04 LTS [Long Term Support] which is affectionately known as "Xenial Xerus.") Having now finally made the Ubuntu plunge, I find that I must learn at least a bit about Terminal syntax, though not as much as you might think. There are instructions online for most of the tasks you need -- although not all of them actually work. But eventually you will get most problems solved, usually after only a few minutes of searching and experimenting. If you've been in the computing game long enough to remember DOS, all of these concepts will be very familiar to you, although the actual language is completely different. ("Sudo"? What the heck is a "Sudo"?) Something just as interesting is the Linux / Ubuntu culture, which is much more reminiscent of "the old days" in the DOS / Windows 3.0 world; online sources of support information about Ubuntu, while excellent, automatically assume you have at least a novice level of expertise, and will not "spoon feed" you through the process. In today's Windows world, the basic level of competence is so dismal that sources of online help mostly say, "Have you made sure that the power cord is plugged in?"  I remember how happy I was
when "plug and play" began
implementation over 20 years ago; it
made configuring a computer far less
obnoxious and much faster. But when the
computer helps us out a little too
much (look to the right, for an example)
we can lose the ability to fix even the
smallest problem, and become dependent
on either the parent company supplying
the hardware and software, or on
professionals (who all too often are
incompetent, and almost always
overpriced.)So far, I am very pleased with my new system; it runs slick as a whistle, is substantially faster than the same hardware running Windows (by about a factor of four) and it does everything I need. All of my old files (with the exception of music scores) are readable and usable with the Libre Office package that is automatically installed with Ubuntu. All of my old emails, contacts and mailboxes transferred into the new system, as did all my old browser bookmarks. Everything just works. Tired of paying $100 for a new version of Windows every three years, forever? Aggravated at how each new version and update renders your programs and files inoperable? Sick of how slow and sluggish Windows has gotten? Infuriated by Windows DRM? Livid at Windows 10 spying on every single thing you do on your computer -- and selling it to anyone who will pay? Get Ubuntu. It's slick. It's fast. And it's free. In the news:
 Science:
Tech:
Culture:
On the carefully and deliberately GOP-constructed mess of the Fringe Right Voting Block: when you create a Frankenstein Monster, don't be surprised when it escapes from the lab and begins shambling across the countryside, destroying villages. Put another way, when you turn your nominating process into a complete circus, don't be surprised when it gets taken over by clowns.
June 21, 2016 How Joseph McCarthy's trusted hitman Roy Cohn became Donald Trump’s mentor. I could see it -- we all could see it -- but I thought The Drumph was just coincidentally similar to Joe McCarthy, the single most loathsome American politician in history. But no. Donald Trump actually adored Roy Cohn, and they had a close relationship that lasted for over 13 years before Cohen died in 1986. Roy Cohen mentored Joe McCarthy, and the activities of his "Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations" is among the darkest periods in our heritage. And now, another protege of Cohen's is the Presumptuous Nominee of the GOP. June 13, 2016 "Tail Gunner Newt" wants to bring back the "House Un-American Activities Committee." Newt Gingrich Suggests Reforming House Un-American Committee In Wake Of Orlando Shooting Clearly, Newt Gingrich is positioning himself to be Trump's running mate. May 31, 2016 Science:
The international bribery scandal is heating up, and it is proving to us what many people already knew; the world in general -- and America is no exception -- has become more corrupt lately. This is what happens when rich people (Forget the one percent, it's the 0.1% who run the show) can lobby governments to get exactly the regulatory and legal climate they want:
March 30, 2016 Donald Trump Withdraws His Pledge To Support The GOP Nominee. Because he been "treated unfairly." Poor guy. The GOP is scared of "The Donald" -- and for good reason. They do not want him to win the nomination, not because he is a Jingoist who gives every appearance of being deeply embedded into the clutches of narcissistic personality disorder, but because he is not a "Team Player" in the GOP sense of that phrase. He will not rubber stamp the legislation the GOP wants, furthering the slide of a prosperous democratic citizenry back into the historical norm of feudalism. He will not beat the drum of various GOP "social" agendas, keeping the radical base of extremist conservative voters "energized." He will not cooperate in the appointments of GOP extreme loyalists into all positions of power in the judiciary and bureaucracy of America. He will not be loyal to the GOP in all things and all ways. He is his own man -- and that man sends chills up the spine of the rest of the world. The GOP is still under the impression that they can manipulate the party nominating process and keep this under control. They can't. While the GOP have already put in place a number of mechanisms to prevent a win, they can't change the fact that the radical "base" of The Donald is what the GOP fears most: a rabble of undisciplined, uncontrollable, ignorant, dangerous voters, teetering on the precipice of a riot. My prediction: the GOP convention will not award The Donald the nomination. It will degenerate into a debacle, a travesty, a fiasco, a farce. It will be an ugly, chaotic, messy, embarrassing disaster, with mass arrests, scandal and outrage, and eventually the nomination will be awarded to the most conservative empty suit who pledges unwavering slavish devotion to the Party. And the The Donald will run as a third party candidate. At which point Democrats could have elected a gay black lesbian communist atheist abortion doctor if they wanted. March 24, 2016 My goodness, what a long hiatus. So here's a long post to make up for it. Science:
(See the "Archives" for previous
posts -- here's the
most recent)
Proud to be
a "True Blue" American.
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