We staved off Fiorino and Whitman. That means less outsourcing and Brown (not that any of us are thrilled with the choice) will do a better job than Whi..."/>
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REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS
I am content
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 6:53 AM
NIKI2
Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 7:00 AM
PHOENIXROSE
You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 7:08 AM
CUDA77
Like woman, I am a mystery.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 7:17 AM
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 7:35 AM
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 8:02 AM
FREMDFIRMA
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 8:19 AM
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 8:29 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: That sounds like one of the crazier ones.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 9:33 AM
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 12:10 PM
CANTTAKESKY
Quote:Originally posted by Fremdfirma: While my vote might not have counted for much, I spent this election making sure YOURS did, something I perhaps felt important no matter how futile our political process really is.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 12:13 PM
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 6:08 PM
DREAMTROVE
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 7:25 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: Good! We need as many sane ones in government as the times will allow.
Thursday, November 4, 2010 1:14 AM
ECGORDON
There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.
Thursday, November 4, 2010 1:15 AM
AURAPTOR
America loves a winner!
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: Oh, damn, too bad about Grayson. Was to be expected, he was too outspoken, but I will miss him. Shame about Feingold, too. My sympathies. Too bad about Bachman, too, but we're used to her whackiness; maybe in 2012 your folks will be sick enough of her to wake up. One can hope...
Thursday, November 4, 2010 1:57 AM
KANEMAN
Thursday, November 4, 2010 2:48 AM
HERO
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: We lost about what I thought we'd lose...So I'm content.
Thursday, November 4, 2010 6:20 AM
JEWELSTAITEFAN
Quote:Originally posted by AURaptor: Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: Oh, @#!*% , too bad about Grayson. Was to be expected, he was too outspoken, but I will miss him. Shame about Feingold, too. My sympathies. Too bad about Bachman, too, but we're used to her whackiness; maybe in 2012 your folks will be sick enough of her to wake up. One can hope...
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: Oh, @#!*% , too bad about Grayson. Was to be expected, he was too outspoken, but I will miss him. Shame about Feingold, too. My sympathies. Too bad about Bachman, too, but we're used to her whackiness; maybe in 2012 your folks will be sick enough of her to wake up. One can hope...
Thursday, November 4, 2010 8:36 AM
Quote:Bachmann is a pillar of light and reason in th world of politics
Quote:You live in a moon-bat haven that has 35 million people, but somehow sends the same idiots to Washington..over and over again. Your state is in financial crisis, homosexuals run the streets naked, you ban pets while embracing weed, any two mammals can be wed.
Thursday, November 4, 2010 8:44 AM
WULFENSTAR
http://youtu.be/VUnGTXRxGHg
Thursday, November 4, 2010 10:25 AM
Quote:I spent a gazillion dollars and still lost the race Many candidates spent big on this election. Many lost, a few won and some didn't even show. Republican Meg Whitman dropped $142 million of her own money on the California governor's race. That's thought to be more than any other individual has ever spent on any single political race in U.S. history. That's substantially more than the $102 million spent by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2009, and over double the $65 million spent by presidential contender Ross Perot in 1992. For Whitman, the former eBay CEO, her personal spending amounted to $46.91 per vote. That still wasn't enough to beat challenger Jerry Brown, whose entire campaign spent about $7 per vote.
Quote:"Violence Geeks”: a strong sub-culture of dysfunctional people who are dangerously obsessed on violence. The modern definition of “geek”: a person turned inward, poorly socialized, who felt so little kinship with their own planet that they routinely traveled to the ones invented by their favorite authors, who thought of that secret, dreamy place their computer took them to as cyberspace -- somewhere exciting, a place more real than their own life, a land they could conquer, not a drab bedroom in their home. Geeks tend to be fanatics (whether it be science fiction, gaming, electronics, computers, comics or something else). More than that, they are obsessed and fixated on something to the point of exclusion. They use their obsession to turn away from society and not to be part of it. But there’s more to it: pain. and confusion. Their obsession is a way to run away from both emotions. But let's start with pain. Not fitting in hurts. While one can say that geeks are constantly bombarded with weird looks, uncomfortable reactions and fast changes of subject, realize that adults are a whole lot nicer to someone who is different than kids. Much of a geek's pain is based on memory of, rather than current misbehavior of, others. Yes, there is incredible pain in being poorly socialized. But instead of helping them overcome the past and adjust to the present, a geek's obsession promotes continuation of that pain. Geeks also being 'turned inward' becomes important. On the surface, it's a paradox. How can you be turned inward when you're obsessed with something outward? One answer is that when you're obsessed with something, you never have to look at yourself. Second, despite its seemingly outward focus, an obsession is based on internal orientation. If you understand a physics analogy, an implosion is usually followed by an explosion. The obsession is like the explosion that follows the implosion. You don't get to the point of obsession until you've been turned inward for a very long time. It looks like a weird paradox, being inwardly oriented while being obsessed on something external. However, realize that a big problem about being inwardly oriented is that you run the risk of running into things about yourself you don't like while you're there. And this is where we encounter the coping mechanism of the geek. You take all your extra energy and fixate on whatever the obsession is so you DON'T have to see those parts of you. The obsession takes up all your time and energy so you don't have to see yourself. But at the same time, those paradigms that create, promote and sustain a lifetime of pain and confusion still drive you. Putting that in plain English, it gives you a way to cope with the pain of how you think, without having to change ... how you think. Whatever their particular obsession, geeks use them as a way to escape the chronic pain of being social misfits. They escape from this world into whatever they fixate upon. Their fixation takes them away from the problems of having to deal with unacceptable thoughts, feelings and emotions. Safely ensconced in their obsession, the pain of being an outcast dwindles. But more than that, their obsession takes them away from the confusion and anger that the cement airplane they call 'reality' doesn't fly. There is a lot invested (via time, energy and emotion) into even the most dysfunctional world view. People actively reject information that is contrary to how they think the world should behave. And along with that comes a LOTof anger. Anger that the world doesn't behave the way it's supposed to. This is common in all kinds of people. And some act on it, while some don't. Geeks, who are generally extremely passive, are NOT necessarily 'mellow.' In fact, if you scratch the surface, you'll often find a bubbling cauldron of generalized anger at people and the world. A lot of the anger comes from the fact that their version of reality doesn't fly very well. But instead of running diagnostics and repairing dysfunctional paradigms, thought processes and developing social skills, the geek does two things. First, he fixates on something that he believes is controllable. This can be something where the 'rules' are not only clearly defined, but also are consistent and fixed (e.g., computers and electronics). OR it can be something where the parameters are established by others, but -- whatever happens -- those rules remain consistent within that narrow framework (e.g., gaming, science fiction, fantasy, role playing, etc.) What these 'other worlds' have in common is that they are consistent and understandable even if the rules are made up. This is where the geek retreats from the outside world. Second, he makes the choice to move into a 'world' populated with people similar to himself (i.e., social misfits). Together they create a self-isolating subculture. And this subculture serves as both a refuge from society AND reinforces the geeks' dysfunctional paradigms. You don't have to 'change' if -- where you hang out – that kind of thinking is 'normal.' Just because the geek surrounds himself with a small group of like-minded people doesn't mean he isn't still dysfunctional. He remains incapable of interfacing with society as a whole. But now, he has found an excuse not to do anything about it. A geek's obsession can become more real than reality. In fact, the time spent 'out in society' often becomes 'less real' to such a person. Think of things like jobs, social interaction, family and other trappings of society as something the geek has to endure between the times of engaging his obsession. Generally speaking, he's only 'half there' during such times. (BTW, did you just see another coping mechanism sneak by?) In a very real sense, the geek only 'comes alive' while engaging in his obsession and related fantasies Geeks come in many different flavors. Most of them are harmless, poorly socialized, obsessed people trapped in their own heads. They are confused about how to interface with the rest of the world and in a lot of pain because of a lifetime of lacking effective coping skills. In that sense, there's a lot to feel sorry about these guys. They really are lost in a confusing world that they don't understand. ). There's a lot of emotional pain, repression and anger in being a geek. But most of them spend their time safely pouring all their energy into whatever subculture they have gravitated to. Violence Geek: Someone whose fantasy world isn't about reading the adventures of others. In his fantasy world, HE is Conan the Destroyer … about to unleash carnage and death on the evil world that hurt him. In fact, he's looking forward to it. All he needs is the right opportunity to give himself permission to go on a rampage. Remember that anger, pain and confusion? While other kinds of geeks safely channel it into their obsession, this kind of geek's fixation IS violence. Unlike most geeks, these folks are actively looking to direct all that anger, pain and confusion outward. They’re just itchin' to find an excuse to come uncorked. They are fixated on the 'idea' of violence.' At the same time, they are terrified of being victims of actual violence. They are an ugly blend of anger, aggressiveness, self-loathing, fear and paranoia. On the plus side, their fear keeps them in check. On the negative side, they are a case of mens rea addressed "To whom it may concern." They are looking for that 'one, ultimate thing that is guaranteed to stop an attacker.' Here's the real hitch: And does it BEFORE the attacker can hurt them. In their fantasies, they come out of Ragnoraak unscathed, and not only without PTSD, but basking in afterglow. The problem with violence geeks is -- as much as they go on about 'self-defense, and no matter how much they fantasize about heroic combat against hordes of slavering bad guys -- what they are looking for is revenge. After a lifetime of feeling inferior, a lifetime of backing down and a nearly pathological hatred of the idea that they are not ALPHA MALES, they're looking for payback. More specifically, they're looking for an excuse to 'go off' on someone. That's what I meant by 'a case of mens rea ( guilty mind ) addressed to 'whom it may concern." While the guys who actually bullied them in school are long gone, they'll settle for anyone who even vaguely resembles their past tormentors. Basically these guys are 'high centered' between their obsession with the idea of violence and their pants wetting panic of actually facing it. The sad thing is they are fixated on the juvenile concept that a "REAL man" has to be violent. Despite all their attention to the subject, everything is basically framed in the concept of a high school fight on steroids. They are best understood as a bunch of betas, pretending to be alphas -- but having no clue as to what it takes to be an alpha/leader. They give themselves permission to become as emotional and obnoxious as possible. And they do this while expecting others to exercise self-control. These sort of people refuse to believe that they are being violent. (Of course, their definition of 'violence' seems to be "any level of force beyond what I am comfortable using to get what I want." Their yelling, screaming, poking, prodding self-rationalizing hissy-fit throwing behavior isn't violent. The other guy who slugs them for acting that way IS).
Thursday, November 4, 2010 11:03 AM
Thursday, November 4, 2010 11:51 AM
KWICKO
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)
Quote:Originally posted by Wulfenstar: Nah... Nix is suffering from the disease of liberals. A belief that they are better and all together perfect. An arrogance and self-delusion... usually reserved for the seriously crazed. Think of a freak in some mental instituion, wearing a paper crown, talking to themselves. Safety scissors are the order of the day. Just let them be. Keep an eye on them of course, but they are about as important. "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies"
Thursday, November 4, 2010 3:40 PM
Thursday, November 4, 2010 5:04 PM
Quote:Originally posted by kaneman: You are content because you live in Cali...Cali is to pot-smokers what Pakistian is to Alfuckingqueda you hippie....What matters is the REST of America is pissed off at your Prez...But this time we have PA, Florida, and Ohio....say goodbye nigger lover...
Quote:Cali is to pot-smokers what Pakistian is to Alfuckingqueda...
Friday, November 5, 2010 3:20 AM
SIGNYM
I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.
Quote:Feingold. Far past time for that clown to be sacked. Part of the problem has been removed from D.C.
Friday, November 5, 2010 3:23 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 3:54 AM
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: Anyone know how the Kamala Harris race is shaping up?
Friday, November 5, 2010 3:56 AM
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: Quote:Feingold. Far past time for that clown to be sacked. Part of the problem has been removed from D.C. Oh, so you liked the bank bailout? 'Cause Feingold voted against it.
Friday, November 5, 2010 5:48 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 9:34 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 9:41 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 9:43 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 9:44 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: Ay-yup! But it's a waste of time, they won't even click on the link. Another they won't click on which is where they're headed if they got their way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta Gawd I loved that movie!! Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani, Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”, signing off
Friday, November 5, 2010 9:48 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Wulfenstar: Funny how you loved V... when its us that V stood (and stands) for, Nix. "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies"
Friday, November 5, 2010 10:19 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 10:26 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 10:42 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 10:44 AM
Quote:Moore predicted that the Labour Party would win the British general election of 1983 and would disarm all of the United Kingdom's nuclear capabilities. The story presents a post-apocalyptic Britain that has narrowly avoided an international nuclear war from 1988 on. As displayed during the story of Evey Hammond, although the United Kingdom did not suffer any nuclear attacks, the effects of full-scale nuclear war on other countries had severe effects on the environment, and thus on agriculture. This in its turn had a knock-on effect on the British economy, and mass riots broke out. As Evey relays to V, the protagonist, the government quickly collapsed and chaos overran the country. The situation turned after several years (approximately 1992 in the story). From the madness of the violence came the ultra right-wing Norsefire regime: fascists (similar to Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists) that united with the surviving big companies and businesses, giving them the appearance of wealth and stability. However, while the Norsefire regime did indeed bring order back to the country, this order came at a cost: minorities such as Indians, Chinese and Pakistanis were rounded up and sent to concentration camps. Other groups such as Jews, Muslims and homosexuals and political leftists were also persecuted. With their potential enemies all removed within a short space of time, Norsefire began consolidating their power over the country. They began to sink their influence into the Church of England, giving it more power and influence. They began promoting and demoting members of the clergy as they saw fit. They also took over the television companies, creating NTV (Norsefire Television), and implemented the technologies that would allow for a closely-monitored society, including closed-circuit television. In the novel the British monarchy continues under Queen Zara. No reference is made to the monarchy in the film. By the time the story of the graphic novel has begun, Norsefire has shut down the concentration camps and is essentially in complete control of society. Although competition exists between the varying branches of the state (similar to the rivalry between the SS and the SA in Nazi Germany), they generally have complete control over Great Britain. The head of the party is Leader Adam Susan, a self-proclaimed fascist who seems to worship Fate, the super-computer surveillance system that oversees the nation. Their control over the state soon faces a threat from V, the anarchist protagonist of the story who seeks to overthrow the regime and allow the people to decide their own fate.
Friday, November 5, 2010 10:51 AM
Friday, November 5, 2010 10:19 PM
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