Keep reading the news!

[E-Nazrin]

To be honest, I've never really understood what the big deal is with illegal immigration.

[JT]

Well, in theory, there's taxes, jury duty, Selective Service, etc. The idea is that we don't want people reaping the benefits of our society without paying what they owe.

This is of course putting aside outright racism, which in reality is probably the biggest factor in the general lack of sympathy for illegals. If Mexicans were white and spoke English, illegal immigration would likely be a non-issue.

[Iced Fairy]

This is of course putting aside outright racism, which in reality is probably the biggest factor in the general lack of sympathy for illegals. If Mexicans were white and spoke English, illegal immigration would likely be a non-issue.

Well there's also the fact that if immigrants are constantly in fear of the police, they won't report the people that hire them for all the labor laws that are being violated.

The history of West Coast agriculture has pretty much been getting in people who have no legal recourse and abusing them for maximum profits, and you'll find that illegal immigration is the continuation of those policies.  The biggest donor groups against reasonable immigration reform are the companies and rich people exploiting those illegals for profit.  The fact that there are racists and honest people who are easily swayed by law and order speeches just makes it an easy issue to push.

Edit: I say this as someone coming from one of the families that was used in this scheme.  Before WWII Asian Americans were another part of that labor force.  The reason it's mostly illegal immigrants now is because the Jim Crow laws and their Asian equivalents finally got offed.

[Tengukami]

S?, se puede

[Stuffman]

I actually agree with Ammy, the way the proposal was written is at least a start. It doesn't say anything like "wireless providers are exempt from net neutrality forever", it says "we're not doing anything about wireless yet". I feel this is reasonable for the time being, as wireless infrastructure is not quite good enough to function in a truely neutral fashion (at least, that's the way I understand it).

Now, what I genuinely don't like about the bill, at least from what I remember, I can't find a goddamn copy of it again, is that one of the things it does is take power away from the FCC by saying that a third party organization should resolve disagreements between service providers and determine what the new rules will be in the future when they come up (i.e. for wireless), which paves the way for bullshit in the future.

[E-Nazrin]

I feel this is reasonable for the time being, as wireless infrastructure is not quite good enough to function in a truely neutral fashion (at least, that's the way I understand it).

Actually, this makes me think of another way to abuse the situation that really could be a problem with letting wireless networks off the hook for now - this allows the infrastructure to be designed to be incapable of functioning in a neutral fashion, now that providers have realized that they can make more money by enforcing more control over what people can do than by providing a useful service.

This would mean that the whole "it doesn't work well that way" thing could become a self-perpetuating excuse to continue exploiting people and blowing off Net Neutrality, rather than a problem on the innovative edge of the technology that has reason to be protected so it can grow and improve.

Granted - there's a chance the market might work around this so that improvements DO continue, but if cellphone networks and their roaming charges for not relying solely on their service are any indication, it's unlikely to be commonplace.

Now, what I genuinely don't like about the bill, at least from what I remember, I can't find a goddamn copy of it again, is that one of the things it does is take power away from the FCC by saying that a third party organization should resolve disagreements between service providers and determine what the new rules will be in the future when they come up (i.e. for wireless), which paves the way for bullshit in the future.

This, on the other hand, goes directly contrary to my previous evaluation and is pretty much objectively bullshit.

[♛ Apher-Forte]

Yeah, and that shows you the attention span of people who flip their shit.

really, there are people who flip their shit and people who generalize that others who flip their shit are 'uninformed' for the lack of a better word.
then, there are people are like myself who get grouped into the same when I voice my concerns, and have more than once posted certain articles that seem to rouse some to respond, when in fact, people like myself are genuinely concerned if the world is going to hell with all this nonsense. (even if it might not concern my country, because lolamerica)

I don't have to remind a lot of people that the 'first, they took my freedom, and I didn't speak up because...' quote that was quite popular; I also needn't have to say with each brick of objective steps that some seemingly uncoordinated efforts of various governments, bills, laws, censorship applied, a little of what we cherish is blocked off its air supply. Rome, as they say, it is not built in a day, the FCC is one of those bricks which lay the foundation to a very bleak future. Given much time, I won't be surprised if the mere net neutrality concern become a full blown future blow-up-in-your-face happening.

[Silent Harmony]

START and help for 9/11 first-responders have finally passed the Senate.

So that's DADT (which was signed today), START, and the 9/11 bill that the Democrats won, but there still is no immigration reform yet, the Dream Act died, and tax breaks for all. Mixed bag of a lame duck session.

Let the new congress begin.

[JT]

START and help for 9/11 first-responders have finally passed the Senate.

About damn time. I'm still pissed about the tax cuts though.

[Tengukami]

Pat Robertson wants to legalize pot.

Merry Christmas.

[JT]

Even a broken clock...

[Tengukami]

We were joking in IRC that he was probably just drunk, the way God intended.

[andrewv42]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/December/theuae_December601.xml&section=theuae

ABU DHABI - In response to directives by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, prayers for rain ?Salaat Al Istisqaa? will be performed next Saturday (25 December 2010) at 7:30 am across all the country?s mosques and musallas.


The faithful pray to God for blessing the land with rain, in accordance with the teachings ?Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad? (peace be upon him) to seek rain from Allah.

I like how the prayer coincides with Christmas Day. We do need some rain here, though; it's awefully dry for this season.

[Tengukami]

I prefer to see it as Christmas coinciding with the prayer for rain.

Not sure what your point is, though.

[E-Nazrin]

My guess is because it's a Muslim prayer.

[?q]

Muslims revere Christ too, albeit to a limited extent.

I found the "peace be upon him" idiosyncrasy more interesting, though.  Now that I think about it, that sort of thing is notably absent from fundamentalist Christianity, at least AFAIK.

[andrewv42]

Well the prayer was answered; at 2:50am on the 26th, it rained for a brief period. I was awake at the time and it felt magical; rain to this country is like snow to anywhere else =)

[Fetch()tirade]

Food for thought.

[Edible]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BR1QB20101228

And people say assassination is a thing of the past.

[Edible]

Also, any blind apologists of Assange or WikiLeaks can now hopefully choke on their damned pie.  This is the sort of damage that can be done.

[Tengukami]

Hell, even Amnesty International has been saying that Assange & Co. have made their job more dangerous.

[Edible]

This is of course putting aside outright racism, which in reality is probably the biggest factor in the general lack of sympathy for illegals. If Mexicans were white and spoke English, illegal immigration would likely be a non-issue.

I wanted to touch on this - I agree with the letter of what you said, but not the spirit.  Most white, English-speaking foreign nationals who attempt to obtain citizenship go about it via the current legal channels for doing so - and are punished accordingly.  A Ukranian friend of mine has spent years getting his case shuffled and reshuffled, and he is an upstanding citizen with no criminal record, holds a steady job, and owns a home.  He is, in fact, more of a model citizen than the average American.

The big thing about immigration reform - and why the DREAM Act failed to pass and will continue to fail - is that it does not address the very real concerns of immigration itself - the mind-bogglingly outdated, poorly-operated, impossibly-backlogged means by which a foreign national can obtain citizenship.  There is no quick and easy fix for immigration reform.  The entire process must be stripped and reworked from the ground up, and no one has the guts or political clout to do so.  Every politician knows this and the wheels will continue to spin for years.

[Silent Harmony]

Health Care repeal is, unsurprisingly, first on the ballet. There are even commercials for a petition sponsored by a Congressman on national TV now.

[Tengukami]

Health Care repeal is, unsurprisingly, first on the ballet. There are even commercials for a petition sponsored by a Congressman on national TV now.

The repeal effort is almost certain to fail ? the measure would have to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate and override a presidential veto ? but the vote will send a combative message to the White House about the course ahead as the GOP takes control of the House on Wednesday.

Translation: Pointless and expensive GOP temper tantrum.

[Silent Harmony]

No doubt. But you know they're going to stoke this fire for at least the next two years, and if it stays then it's going to be a hot button in the 2012 election. Even if this bill leads to the best overall health in US history, they'll find a way to spin it as the worst thing ever.

However, this is, in my opinion of course, a prime example of what the next two years are going to be: ugly as hell. Our president's basically in a no-win situation. No way anything progressive legislation is passing Congress now (not that they had an easy time before), and any attempts will just give the Tea Party more ammo. But if he compromises, the progressives in the Democratic party will continue calling him a sissy traitor and risk turning against him in the primary (may fail, but a schism is the last thing the party needs).

[Tengukami]

For some reason things don't look that bleak to me. Maybe because - and I know a lot of people are making this comparison - it reminds me of when then GOP took the House and the Senate in '94, when Clinton was president. They tried to stonewall him on the federal budget, effectively shutting down the government, but Clinton didn't budge. He ended up sticking to his guns, and got the budget he wanted. But not only does Obama and the Democrats have the advantage of at least having the Senate; Obama's approval ratings actually rose shortly after the Congressional elections. After the 1994 elections, Clinton's approval was falling.

Obama and the Democrats have the momentum and the position to still get their agenda done. Unfortunately, the Democrats seem terrified of the GOP and fold like tents at the slightest sign of resistance. Hopefully this past November was a wake-up call.

[Silent Harmony]

Hopefully this past November was a wake-up call.

I remember reading that like half of the Democrats who were moderate and voted against Health Care and the stimulus lost reelection campaigns. I have mixed feelings: as a moderate I hate to smile when moderates lose, but it hopefully showed the rest of the party that there's no safety net with going with the "popular" opinion, and it's better to stick to your guns.

Though I suppose those moderates probably did do just that and lost for it, so who knows what point I'm trying to make. I lost track long ago.

As for everything else, I was too young to remember the Clinton years other than the scandals, but I'll keep in mind what you've just said. Let's hope for the best.

[Tengukami]

As for everything else, I was too young to remember the Clinton years other than the scandals, but I'll keep in mind what you've just said. Let's hope for the best.

This is a pretty good run-down of the Obama '10/Clinton '94 comparison. It's surprisingly apt, and when you consider Clinton was far more outgunned but still did two terms, it should also give Democrats some optimism.

EDIT: Whoops, forgot the article.

[E-Nazrin]

Wikileaks: US government pressures EU to accept genetically modified crops/corn on orders from Monsanto

Hooray, solid proof of how the US is being manipulated!

[Edible]

"In a veritable Who's Who of Doctor Who, 10th Doctor David Tennant is marrying Georgia Moffett, the daughter of 5th Doctor Peter Davison, who played the Doctor's daughter in an episode of Doctor Who. Except that the Doctor's daughter was a clone of the Doctor, which meant that she really was Who. So a newer Doctor is marrying an older Doctor's daughter, who is a clone of the newer doctor, but only has half the DNA of the older Doctor."

ahahahaha