gwendolyngrace | Entries tagged with politics

Gakked from

juniperus, who posted a few days ago:
Originally posted by

dynamicsymmetry at Congress wants to take away your internet.

Folks, I know you're tired of me yelling at you, but you should be aware that there's a hearing this morning being held by the US House Judiciary Committee on a "copyright" bill that will essentially break the entire internet.

You like the internet, right? I mean, you're here.

From the link above:

As drafted, the legislation would grant the government and private parties unprecedented power to interfere with the Internet's domain name system (DNS). The government would be able to force ISPs and search engines to redirect or dump users' attempts to reach certain websites' URLs. In response, third parties will woo average users to alternative servers that offer access to the entire Internet (not just the newly censored U.S. version), which will create new computer security vulnerabilities as the reliability and universality of the DNS evaporates.

It gets worse: Under SOPA's provisions, service providers (including hosting services) would be under new pressure to monitor and police their users’ activities. While PROTECT-IP targeted sites “dedicated to infringing activities,” SOPA targets websites that simply don’t do enough to track and police infringement (and it is not at all clear what would be enough). And it creates new powers to shut down folks who provide tools to help users get access to the Internet the rest of the world sees (not just the “U.S. authorized version”).

This is being framed as an attempt to fight hackers and pirates. Don't buy it. And don't think for a minute that it's going to stop there. This is bad. And at the hearing today, only one opponent of the bill is being allowed to testify.

Please do whatever you can to fight this. Email congresspeople. Sign petitions. Yell about it in every venue you can.

And/or

While talking to

grouchyoldcoot tonight, he pointed me to this:

An article on the Huffington Post about an anti-gay activist who hired a rent boy.

Ah, yes. Irony. That's the stuff.

What'd y'all think?

I thought he pretty well bitch-slapped everyone who needed it, including the Dems. The question is whether he can maintain the attitude when he's not the one solely controlling the agenda and the message.

But, on that note, I saw this on Liam's LJ and I pass it on to all y'all:

Phelps-a-Thon

"[W]hen the [Fred] Phelps group comes to Gunn High School to protest, they will actually be raising money for LGBT equality and understanding at the School!"

Good for them!

Crap, it's snowing! It's been so nice out, but now it's all big fat flakes. Feh.

Netflix has brought me "Lost" Season 1 (disc one). Don't spoil me!

Current Music: Lost Season 1

Here's a link to the prepared speech. I can't find confirmation that President Obama wrote it himself (obviously not completely, but y'know):

NYT Transcript

Okay, one thing that we at work discussed as it was happening was that Roberts completely f'd up the oath of office. He screwed up the beginning and (so we thought) left out two whole sections. We were thinking perhaps because they were running late, they told him to "skip a bit, brother" - but also this way, conveniently, President Obama can assert that y'know, there are many things in the Presidential oath that he actually didn't swear to do.

However. Interesting inaugural factoid of the day: The Presidential Oath of Office is short and sweet. The VP's oath is the longer one with the extra stuff about protecting us from enemies foreign and domestic. Huh.

President:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

VP:
I, A— B—, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

So, what do you know? Well, Obama can still technically say something like, "Hey, X wasn't in the oath I swore."

Oh, I know, it's solemn and amazing and THANK the GODS and DAMN, can that man write and deliver a speech, ZOMG, but c'mon. It's funny.

Okay, it's a little funny.

But I want to know first when I can have my 28 hour days, so that I can get more done?

Okay. So y'know what I just did? I just registered for AZKATRAZ. Yeah, I know, right? I'm running the event and I hadn't registered. But here's the thing: I know I want the full smear - Merlin Circle with the Master's in Potter Administration (even if it's unlikely I'll be able to leave the hotel) and all the bells and whistles. I don't think I'm taking the bus to Comic-Con, but that's only because I don't think I'll be able to leave first-thing Wednesday morning.

But I know that's a lot of money. Especially right now, when I've got a bunch of charges on my cards from all the umpty-million trips I've been taking, and I paid for the groups' San Francisco tour and Alcatraz trips on my credit card (and everyone else paid me cash)... so I'm looking at my bills this month and going 0_o.

But the movie tickets are selling very quickly. Azkatraz has already got just under 200 registrants and it seems like *everyone* who registers is buying the maximum 2 movie tickets they are allowed to buy.

So here's what I did: I registered for a one-day registration, so that I could get my tickets. (Yes,

rani23, I got one for you!) That way, later, when my bills are paid up a bit better, I can upgrade to the whole enchilada. The Merlin Circle price doesn't change, so it's not like I'm going to miss a deadline.

Anyone else in the same boat? Use the same strategy! Register NOW for a one-day registration and then upgrade later and pay the difference. It's like an installment plan ... only not.

Actually, it could be an installment plan if you go back in a month and add something else, like another one-day, or the MPA, or whatever, and then the next month go up to the full deal.

So that was one thing.

Also on the Azkatraz front, COSTUMERS! The deadline for submitting fashion show designs is NOVEMBER 15th! That's next Saturday. We need submissions! This is a fabulous idea and it's gonna be a really cool part of the conference, but only if people actually put in their ideas - just like programming, we can't build it if y'all don't contribute! Put on your thinking caps about what wizarding fashion looked like through history and bring your designs to be modeled on the runway at the Prison Break Ball! Contact fashionpageant@hp2009.org with questions or to submit a design.

What's next?

OBAMA, baby. THANK EFFING GOODNESS. I might not have to move to Canada. Not that there's anything wrong with Canada!

I think that's really all there is to say about that.

Work: Still a maniac and have to go in a few minutes to do some of that.

Theatre: Show going much better. Director doesn't need me when she's doing scene work, so yay, not as much rehearsal. Which means I actually had time to go to the grocery store Monday, vote yesterday, and I'll be able to pack tonight and tomorrow so that I'm ready to leave for Cooks and Bards WAY early Friday morning. Have an audition on Wednesday the 12th so PLEASE y'all, if you're at the event, keep me from blowing out my voice. KTHX.

Sidekick: Woe. The trackball died. Have impersonated Heidi to add myself to the account and then dealt with them. Replacement on its way but probably not until early next week. Feh. Miss not being able to check up on things during the commute and while out and about doing worky things.

Supernatural: I'm the lamest of the lame. I've seen up through 4x04, but no, I haven't seen "Monster Movie" and no, I haven't seen Jensen singing, but yes, I know what he sings and yes, I'll get there. I will not be caught up by tomorrow night, either, so I'll have to download 8 and add it to my pile. I will catch up eventually, seriously. On the plus side, I got one of the prompts from my

wee_chesters community (I offered prompts to members # 199, 200, and 201) and I'm actually working on that. So writing fic again, yay!

Alternity: Still awesome. I have to restrain myself from posting and instead getting work done and things like that.

Okay. I think that's it.

A short while ago, my friend Heidi solicited her flist to send her short clips of themselves saying what it was they did not want to risk in order to see Sarah Palin break the glass ceiling of government office.

She asked me to record some of the voice-over for the commercial.

Today she uploaded the edited cut of the video:

Or go here to watch.

It's uneven, because everyone sent her different sound quality and different conditions, but I think it gets the point across. Please spread it around.

Thanks!

Am I missing something?

So, as I understand it from NPR, there were some speculative rumours about Palin's youngest son not being hers, but her daughter's. So the Republican party announced today that the child can't be the girl's because...she's currently pregnant.

I love the fact that they think they can dispel a rumour that a 16/17-year-old girl was pregnant by telling us all that no, she can't have been...because she is pregnant.

Seriously? How is this a positive spin?

A couple articles really worth reading.

On politics, found by

goldsquare:

His Math Beats Clinton's Math

On societal shift, found by

copperbadge

The Internet Revolution

(

grouchyoldcoot, you in particular will like both these.

Meanwhile, I did a lot of walking today; received my monthly visitor (which explains the chocolate cravings!) and can't keep up with all of you.

NewGirl at work is...not as smart as I am. That shouldn't be too surprising. But she needs to breathe, calm down, and take things one step at a time. I really hope within another week or so she starts to feel more at home.

Much fic to produce. Four or five pieces to cycle through, BigBang to finish cleaning up, and summergen to write.

Plus

kimonkey7 has declared June the found_fic amnesty month. Damn. There were some prompts I wanted to tackle. But oh, well. I have enough on my plate, thanks. Because:

- Podcast Play planning for Portus
- AEthelmearc AEcademy class planning (?)
- MUST BUY CAR / SELL CAR / DO CAR STUFF
- Need to call doctor tomorrow and tell him antibiotics yay! (feeling much better)
- Picnic with hp_boston folks
- Wedding shower for Lois's daughter (wrap present, get card)
- EMACT! (I'm a guard. It's a 90-second, non-speaking role in which I wear a mask. FUN - and no, I'm not being sarcastic. I think this is a great initiation to EMACT)
- I NEED TO CLEAN ZOMG.

Okay. Break's over. Back to ~~work~~ writing.

Sarah Vowell's OpEd in the NY Times today really hit the nail on the head:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/opinion/13vowell.html?th&emc=th

(registration required, but free).

( Highlights behind cut )

Brilliant.

Current Mood: awake

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Page Summary

Congress wants to take away your internet.
I love it when the anti-gay guys? Turn out to be Teh GAY
State of the Union
Inaugural Text
w00t.
I have things to say....
Viral Video: Not Worth the Risk
The newest on the Palin family....
A news roundup....
Good editorial

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A Quote for Every Occasion

Entries tagged with politics

Congress wants to take away your internet.

I love it when the anti-gay guys? Turn out to be Teh GAY

State of the Union

Inaugural Text

w00t.

I have things to say....

Viral Video: Not Worth the Risk

The newest on the Palin family....

A news roundup....

Good editorial