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  1. gpatt0n
    New post on pv magazine USA
        CLEAN Future Act would slash emissions, create national energy standard
    by Joe Bebon Leaders from the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce introduced the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation's (CLEAN) Future Act. The legislation aims to decarbonize the country and establish a national 100% clean electricity standard (CES), among other proposals.
    The legislation would authorize $565 billion over 10 years to achieve its goals. The bill sponsors said the legislation includes
    "significant updates" to a draft released in January 2020, reflecting comments from stakeholders, expert testimony received in Committee hearings, and the enactment of several previous provisions into law through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.
    The CLEAN Future Act would mandate net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions no later than 2050, with an interim target of reducing GHG emissions 50% from 2005 levels no later than 2030. The targets come from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
    Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) called climate change "one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime." He said the bill, which was introduced March 3, would create millions of "homegrown jobs" while ensuring the federal government does not "watch from the sidelines as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on Americans' health and homes."
     
    Rep. Frank Pallone Pallone, considered one of the gatekeepers of the Biden administration's energy agenda, introduced the bill with Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Chairman Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Energy Subcommittee Chairman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL).
    According to a summary from the sponsors, the CLEAN Future Act proposes new policies aimed at cutting GHG pollution in areas within the House committee's jurisdiction.
    Specific sectors
    Power sector: The CLEAN Future Act includes a nationwide CES requiring all retail electricity suppliers to obtain 100% clean electricity by 2035, in line with President Joe Biden's call to action for the power sector. The CES would mandate that all retail electricity suppliers provide an increasing supply of clean electricity to consumers starting in 2023, rising to 80% by 2030 and then 100% by 2035. The bill would invest in clean energy, distributed energy resources, grid infrastructure, and microgrids to help build resiliency and cut pollution. In addition, it would empower the federal government to expedite building out the transmission system to achieve clean energy goals.
    Building sector: The bill aims to improve the efficiency of new and existing buildings, as well as the equipment and appliances that operate within them. It would establish national energy savings targets for continued improvement of model building energy codes, leading to a requirement of zero-energy-ready buildings by 2030. The bill also would set energy and water savings targets for federal buildings and provide funding for schools, homes, and municipal buildings to improve efficiency.
     

    The bill also would update financing programs to expand domestic manufacturing of advanced automotive technologies.
    Transportation sector: The bill targets transportation emissions, the largest source of GHG pollution, by building  infrastructure to support a clean transportation system. The bill includes investments in transportation electrification, including grants and rebates to deploy electric vehicles and charging stations, zero-emissions school buses. It also would formally authorize a Clean Cities Coalition Program. The bill also would update financing programs to expand domestic manufacturing of advanced automotive technologies. It would establish a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant program to decarbonize and electrify ports around the country, reducing air pollution that affect nearby communities.
    Industrial sector: The bill would establish a Buy Clean Program that sets performance targets to reduce emissions from construction materials and products used in projects that receive federal funding. The bill incorporates new Climate Star labeling and provisions to ensure that performance targets adequately consider the complexities of manufacturing and procuring carbon-intensive products. With the majority of U.S. construction projects funded by government dollars, the program would aim to transform and strengthen the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector, while reducing emissions by promoting low-carbon materials and expanding the market for cleaner products.
    Additional policies
    A national climate target for federal agencies: In line with Biden's government-wide approach to fight climate change, the bill would direct all federal agencies to use existing authorities to put the country on a path toward a 50% reduction in GHG emissions from 2005 levels by no later than 2030, and to net zero no later than 2050. To ensure federal agencies' efforts remain on track, the legislation would direct the EPA to evaluate each agency's plans, make recommendations and report on progress each year, and establish a Clean Economy Federal Advisory Committee to review the plans.
     

    States would have flexibility to develop plans to meet the 2050 and interim targets based on their own policy preferences, priorities, and circumstances.
    State climate plans: The bill would empower states to complete the transition to a net-zero economy based on the federalism model in the existing Clean Air Act. States would have flexibility to develop plans to meet the 2050 and interim targets based on their own policy preferences, priorities, and circumstances. Each state would submit a climate plan to the EPA for its review and approval. To ensure that states have ample guidance and expertise at their disposal, the bill would direct the EPA to develop a set of model GHG control strategies states can choose to incorporate into their plans. The bill would authorize $200 million to help states prepare their plans.
    Accelerator program: The bill would establish a Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator--modeled after the Green Bank model deployed across the U.S.--to help states, cities, communities, and companies transition to a clean economy. Capitalized with $100 billion in funding, the accelerator program would mobilize public and private investments to provide financing for low- and zero-emissions energy technologies, climate resiliency projects, building efficiency and electrification, industrial decarbonization, grid modernization, agriculture projects, clean transportation, and the development of state and local Green Banks where they do not yet exist. The bill would require that the program prioritize investments in communities that are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change and includes labor protections.
     

    The bill also would create new programs to support dislocated workers and provide financial assistance to local governments.
    Worker transition: The bill would establish an interagency framework to ensure workers and communities have federal-level support and resources during the nation's transition to net-zero climate pollution. It would create an Office of Energy and Economic Transition in the Executive Office of the President, responsible for managing a task force and stakeholder advisory committee to coordinate programs and activities that support impacted workers and communities. The bill also would create new programs to support dislocated workers and provide financial assistance to local governments, including by replacing lost revenue due to the closure of a major employer.
    Environmental justice: The bill includes provisions designed to make environmental justice part of the mission of all federal agencies and to incorporate environmental justice considerations into laws. It includes investments to protect the health and safety of environmental justice communities, including lead service water line replacement, brownfield cleanups, and superfund cleanups. It further protects these groups by implementing new coal ash disposal requirements and repealing oil and gas production exemptions from landmark environmental laws.
    The path forward
    The CLEAN Future Act also features a suite of related policies, including proposals to reduce waste, remove barriers to clean energy, and reduce pollutants like methane. The legislation is the result of 27 hearings in the Energy and Commerce Committee on climate change over the last two years. Its introduction marks the beginning of the legislative process; hearings on the CLEAN Future Act will continue in the months ahead.
    Bill text can be found here, and a section-by-section detail can be found here.
  2. gpatt0n
    Since I can copy and paste this directly from my email, I thought I would share it as well as create a special place I can go to watch these myself. FYI, this is the kind of stuff that interests me
     
              IDTechEx Webinars             IDTechEx Upcoming Webinars   Our free, expert led webinars provide up-to-date insights on the latest emerging technology trends. You can now access the webinars at a time that suits you. Presentation materials are also available for webinars.

    If there is a specific topic or market that you would like to learn more about through one of our webinars, please do let me know - annick@IDTechExWebinars.com             Electric Vehicles and Robotics in Agriculture: $50 Billion Market Soon
      Wednesday 22 April 2020
      Seven key EV enabling technologies Which hybrid and pure electric powertrains are coming in for what vehicles & why Learn how ageing workforces and the need for better land usage including no soil compaction alter the picture Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Electric Vehicles and Robotics in Agriculture 2020-2030   Click Here to Register     Vertical Farming: Can Indoor Farming Reach Its Full Potential?
        Thursday 23 April 2020
      Overview of vertical farming and key technologies Challenges facing the industry - can vertical farming really fulfil its ambitious expectations? Business models, opportunities and market outlook 2020-2030 Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Vertical Farming 2020-2030   Click Here to Register               Miniaturised Gas Sensors for Environmental Monitoring
      Wednesday 29 April 2020
      Increasing demand to monitor air quality New methods of manufacture Five common detection principles for gas sensors Comparison of miniaturised sensor technologies Gas sensors in the automotive industry Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Environmental Gas Sensors 2020-2030   Click Here to Register     Thermal Management: Keeping Cool as the Electric Vehicle Market Heats Up!
      Wednesday 6 May 2020
      Overview of thermal management approaches Key OEM methodologies and emerging alternatives Shifts in OEM strategies and predictions for the future Importance of fire and thermal runaway prevention Overview of material opportunities within this market Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Thermal Management for Electric Vehicles 2020-2030   Click Here to Register           IDTechEx On-demand Webinars             Innovations in Cardiovascular Disease Management
      Emerging technologies for diagnosis, remote monitoring, and treatment of cardiovascular disease highlighted Market drives and challenges Artificial intelligence in cardiovascular imaging 3D bioprinting cardiovascular tissue - opportunities Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Cardiovascular Disease 2020-2030   Watch On-demand   Electric Vehicle Motor Manufacturers: Which to Buy, Employ, Avoid   Extract from the 255 motor manufacturer and developer analysis Gaps in the market Chasing high power to weight ratio Shares some research from the IDTechEx report Electric Vehicle Motor Manufacturers and Developers: 255 Analysed and Assessed   Watch On-demand             Plant-Based and Cultured Meat: The Future of Meat Alternatives
      Overview of plant-based and cultured meat - why now? Markets, drivers and science behind these fast-emerging areas Extrusion: how plant-based meat is made Global forecast: plant-based meat Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Plant-based and Cultured Meat 2020-2030   Watch On-demand   Robot Shuttles: New Form of Transport
      Robotaxis compared to robot shuttles and typical autonomy systems for robotaxis and robot shuttles SAE levels of automation in land vehicles Second generation robot shuttle examples Geographical, size, deployment distribution Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Robot Shuttles and Autonomous Buses 2020-2040   Watch On-demand             XR: What is XR, and where is it going?
      Summary of the types of headsets available including trends and comparisons Discussion on the wide variety of applications which they are used today Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2020-2030: Forecasts, Markets and Technologies   Watch On-demand   Electric Trucks: An Impending Revolution?
      CO2 emission from medium and heavy-duty trucks Projected increase in global road freight activity Regional Outlook for Truck Electrification Fuel saving technologies Electric Truck 2020-2030: Market Forecasts Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Electric Trucks 2020-2030   Watch On-demand             Electric Vehicles in Mining: $20 Billion Market Soon
      Seven key EV enabling technologies for Mining EVs Fuel cells or batteries? Energy independent? Equipment definitions: market player landscap How do you make all that electricity on-site with zero emissions and no stranded assets when you move on? Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Electric Vehicles and Robotics in Mining 2020-2030   Watch On-demand   Electric Vans: The Time is Now
      Why Electric Light Commercial Vehicles? Regional Outlook for Electric LCVs CO2 emissions from the LCV sector Market Outlook: Drivers of Electric LCV Electric LCV 2020-2030: Market Forecasts Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Electric Light Commercial Vehicles 2020-2030   Watch On-demand             Electronics Reshaped: How Flexible, Stretchable & Structural Electronics is Unleashing New Design Freedoms in Healthcare, Mobility & Retail
      Key developments and challenges How this technology is making an impact Identification of the trends and changes In-Mold electronics comes to market Die attach paste: Opportunity offered by EVs Shares some of the research from IDTechEx Printed & Flexible Electronics reports   Watch On-demand   Successful Triboelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing (TENG): What Next?
      Triboelectrics supports the new technology megatrends Major opportunities and impediments A few of our primary conclusions : research and development effort Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Triboelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing (TENG) 2020-2040   Watch On-demand             Where are the Market Opportunities in Molecular Diagnostics?
      Leading technologies to synthesis DNA microarrays Key trends of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) DNA sequencing technologies Infectious diseases market & diagnosis of COVID-19 Point-of-care molecular diagnostics Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Molecular Diagnostics 2020-2030   Watch On-demand   Electric Vehicles in Construction, Agriculture, Mining: $100 Billion Market Soon
      Why we need electric CAM vehicles Progress towards all electric CAM vehicles Seven key EV enabling technologies for CAM EVs Patent analysis Shares some of the research from the IDTechEx report, Electric Vehicles in Construction, Agriculture and Mining 2020-2030   Watch On-demand           You can find our full list of webinars available on-demand and upcoming sessions, at www.IDTechEx.com/webinars.

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  3. gpatt0n
    Ask a scientist — or anyone, really — about the birth of the universe, and they’ll probably tell you it started with the Big Bang.
    What nobody knows, though, is what caused that explosion. Some suspect the Big Bang was actually a massive star going supernova, but again, no one knows what exactly causes those stars to ignite, either.
    That might have just changed, though, thanks to a University of Central Florida research team that says it discovered the conditions necessary for a Big Bang explosion in their lab — without actually intending to.
    A team led by Kareem Ahmed, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was testing methods for producing hypersonic jet propulsion when it discovered that a passive flame could accelerate and explode on its own.
    “We explore these supersonic reactions for propulsion, and as a result of that, we came across this mechanism that looked very interesting,” Ahmed said in a press release. “When we started to dig deeper, we realized that this is relatable to something as profound as the origin of the universe.”
  4. gpatt0n
    National vs. local politics apparently is a meme on pcom.
    I apparently irritated the new owners with expressed concerns over a draft Executive Order that was leaked that promises, in the words of gizmodo - a tech site, not a political site - that the proposal would give the administration in power under these kinds of rules the ability to censor, with a political slant, all posts on the internet. The trick is that it redefines what is meant by the legal immunity offered sites called section 230(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1996. My explanation of that was removed because apparently I crossed the line into national politics because I localized it to its potential impact on pcom.
    As someone who has a degree in political science and who has played in the arena in various role, I subscribe to the notion that 'All politics are local" So, here is a RedState article (link) that explores the entomology of the phrase, commonly attributed to former Speaker Tip O'Neil, with the author asserting, as an expert on the American lexicon, that it was the head of censorship in the US in WWII, that was the actual person to coin the phrase. Seems fitting, doesn't it.
     
     
     
  5. gpatt0n
    When first presented with the idea, I was just about where you are SG. I was curious and skeptical ... and then I saw the world press take notice. Why would they care?
     
    I did a little more research on the airline industry - not enough to make me an expert on airlines - but enough to note there are some less than obvious opportunities when it comes to enhancing competition. The airline carriers are pulling back, limiting service to smaller cities and eliminating in some others. Air transportation is a public-private partnership much like the highways ... where the government provides the locations and private industry provides carriers and even, in the case of general aviation, airplanes. The obvious analogy is to public highways on which run Greyhound buses, semi-tractors, limosines, sedans, convertibles and harlies. Some carry passengers for hire, others own their own.
     
    In the big picture, Atlanta is not just a hub, it is a destination and getting here requires you be able to land here. There are some carriers who can't. Then there are the smaller airports that lost their service anywhere and with smaller providers effectively blocked from Atlanta, those airports can't even get here using small regional jets or even small regional turboprops.
     
    Those smaller to mid-sized airports that have lost flights to Atlanta, because of federal law, can have carriers subsidized to maintain service. But with the consolidation of airlines, there were no competitors ready to fill the void when Delta and other major carriers pulled out, not necessarily because it was not profitable, but because the ROI was not 'high enough.'
     
    In real estate, the saying is location, location, location. In the Atlanta airport market monopolized by Hartsfield-Jackson, it is location. The plain fact is the market is more than big enough for location, location and probably there is room for the third location.
     
    See SG, monopolies distort markets and that is what I got from the interest of the world press in this project in little old Paulding.
     
    And, as far as H-J, consider for just a moment that it is hardly unusual for a commercial passenger to transfer from say Reagan National to Dulles or from JFK to LaGuardia or even Newark, DFW to Hobby or Love ... and the trip from Silver Comet to H-J would actually be among the most direct by cab or car in any of these examples. There is even a google ad war going on amongst cabs, limo companies, etc. for those trips there.
     
    I'll leave it to you to look up the others but the point is that if as little as 1/10th of one-percent (one in a thousand) of the traffic going through H-J needed to go to or from one of the small markets for a connection or for any other reason that would equate to over 100,000 passengers.
     
    No doubt they would rather transfer from one gate at Hartsfield-Jackson to another but with the major airlines eliminating that service, guess what.
     
    Then there was the H-J research that pegged the projected traffic volume through Paulding's airport at between 300,000 and 1.3 million annually whil asserting it would cost close to $3 billion to do it (including re-routing US 278) which I see as a ridiculous (and self-serving since H-J wants to expand another runway or two at H-J at a cost of about $3 billion, duh?)
     
    So, what is the bottom line?
     
    First, air transportation is and always will be part of the national priority because it is the 'inter-city rapid transport' system.
     
    Second, air transportation is structured as a public/private partnership much like our highway system.
     
    Third: the airline carriers have been in a period of consolidation and have created areas of dominance that allow them to set prices and, more importantly, restrict services in ways detrimental to the traveling public and especially the mid-sized and smaller communities they are supposed to serve.
     
    Forth: As a country, we can either accept 'unacceptable' levels of service, re-regulate the industry bureaucratically to provide acceptable service, or foster competition to allow the market to right itself and provide new opportunities for new players to provide acceptable service in markets that are suffering (including through incentives as currently in law or modification of those incentives.)
     
    That is the niche of the broader perspectives that our little old Silver Comet Field in little old Paulding County Georgia fulfills.
     
    Now, add the proximity of the new Braves stadium; Lake Point Sports and Bartow's Sochi playground ... oh and the people you've identified as 'not enough alone' to make the airport a success.
     
    Then add the international notoriety, and I'd say good publicity (and concomitant accolades) that come from being the David in the David and Goliath story of doing this despite the strong opposition both publicly and surreptitiously of Delta and H-J.
     
    You can't buy publicity like that. That publicity can't help but accomplish the goal of bringing good jobs to the community.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: The Airport Bonds - Just Follow the Money
  6. gpatt0n
    The plain fact is that trump won using the rules - the rigged rules which are rigged in favor of rural states and voters - and he is our president.
     
    What we need to do is give the guy a chance as he likely is not as bad as his VP.
     
    Indeed, I have to give trump kudoos on his choice of VP because Pence, while he has some Washington experience, is among the most regressive and intolerant of the Republicans. Hell, he was headed for near certain defeat in his quest for re-election in Indiana because of his neanderthal attitudes. The point being is that Trump, despite all his blather, is probably more aligned with the Democrats on things like social security and even health care than Pence, whose by word in policy is, like most ubber-conservatives, out to truly magnify misery. (For a deeper understanding of Pence, remember he entered the public arena as right-wing radio talk show host.)
     
    The point is that he is probably a lot more dangerous if elevated to the white house than even trump and his genius was that he chose possibly the most rabid right winger he could as his VP meaning that only a dumb, dumb democrat would trade him for Pence.
     
    That said, Trump is likely, if he decides to assert himself to 'attain big things' ... you got to know that he wants a bunch of stuff named after him like airports, bridges, even health care systems (trumpcare) ... he is going to be at odds with the rabid-right wing congress.
     
    And, if he gets in trouble with his 'conflicts of interest' with his kids, the republican congress will probably want to impeach him more than will the Democrats ... and his ace in the hole is that the Democrats may balk at removing him - in essence defending him - because Pence is the last person the Democrats want in the whitehouse.
     
    Bottom line ... we need to accept Trump because his gut level interest - doing big things he can put his name on - is at odds with the small government dominated congressional Republicans.
     
    My advice for Democrats is to accept the election because he won under the rules and be more directed in our opposition - i.e. we need to choose our battles with this administration carefully. Just protesting his victory is understandable ... but needs to end sooner than later.
     
    pubby
     
     
     
    Source: A Family Affair.
  7. gpatt0n

    reading

    By gpatt0n,

    http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/what-big-thing-would-reinvigorate-the-democratic-party/?mabReward=RI%3A7
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/upshot/what-studies-show-about-the-effect-of-voter-id-laws.html?mabReward=RI%3A7
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/us/politics/court-rejects-incumbents-bid-on-ballot-count.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/business/economy/liberal-treasury-nominees-deal-making-prowess-could-be-a-liability-.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/nyregion/lester-bernstein-former-newsweek-editor-dies-at-94.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/upshot/under-pressure-from-uber-taxi-medallion-prices-are-plummeting.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/automobiles/review-2015-lamborghini-huracn.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/automobiles/gms-futurliner-to-take-its-place-among-historically-important-vehicles.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/automobiles/2-fieros-for-want-of-a-ferrari.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/business/smallbusiness/more-start-up-retailers-opt-for-the-freedom-and-lower-costs-of-selling-from-a-truck.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/business/woman-cleared-in-death-caused-by-gms-faulty-ignition-switch.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/22/business/gm-bullied-manufacturer-over-poorly-designed-part-email-says.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/automobiles/autoreviews/style-points-but-not-a-bulls-eye-.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2014/11/23/automobiles/collectibles/23dodge-slides.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/business/minivans-fare-poorly-in-tests-mimicking-a-collision.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/opinion/paul-krugman-pollution-and-politics.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/opinion/the-new-gop-showdown-threat.html
    http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/26/what-if-were-wrong-about-depression/
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/movies/the-imitation-game-stars-benedict-cumberbatch.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/upshot/when-should-you-shop-right-after-black-friday.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/business/drug-maker-gave-large-payments-to-doctors-with-troubled-track-records.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/us/ferguson-experts-weigh-darren-wilsons-decisions-leading-to-fatal-shooting-of-michael-brown.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/science/solving-the-riddles-of-an-early-astronomical-calculator.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/opinion/remember-the-sand-creek-massacre.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html
  8. gpatt0n
    First, I will close this topic. Why?
     
    Because it is a no-win for pcom or for local businesses.
     
    We have developed rules regarding all this and those rules seek to balance the issues presented.
     
    Let me address the points where there is obviously some misunderstanding.
     
     
    We protect the advertising posts of business members. If a business member come in and offers, say, a lunch special for $4.99, their topic making that offer is protected. In other words, another member will be reprimanded for coming in and saying, yeah, bought that special last week and it made me sick. I think they use rancid leftovers ... and they put in as a reply to that topic, they are going to get 'dinged.' Why? Because the business member effectively paid for that advertisement and space first. Second, we are not a court of law and just because the member says that they got sick and made those allegations of using rancid food is not proof the biz member did. We have no idea whether the poster is telling the truth or why, even, they made the statement. Could it be they are a competitor? Could it be they are a competitor whose business is hurt every time they make the offering? No one has sworn an oath to tell the truth and, believe it or not, some people make a habit of lying about stuff when they can assume an advantage.
     
    We also know that, in the case of a restaurant, if there are people reporting to the health department they are getting sick, etc. the health department has procedures to rectify and even close a restaurant. So why did the consumer poster come on pcom and slam the business???? Note, we would also report that a restaurant was closed due to people getting food poisoning if the report came from the health department and it wouldn't make any difference if the business were a member here or not.
     
    To simplify the rule, if a business member starts a topic advertising their good or service and someone comes and rains on their parade, we will ding them, double ding them and if necessary suspend them if they insist of trying to rain on the parade of a business member in a topic they start.
     
    This same member could avoid the dings, however, by starting their own topic criticizing the business. We get a ton of these disgruntled customer complaints and frankly, we are not able to determine the truth or falsity of them. However, we try to move these topics from the Cafe to the covert condescension forum as quickly as possible WHETHER OR NOT the business is a business member here or not. We are not a court and we don't have the resources to go out and investigate the allegations and we certainly don't ascribe truth (or falsity) to the report. I have been encouraged to put that forum behind a paywall but have resisted doing so.
     
    The reason that makes sense is because consumer making complaints in some of these cases go overboard and allege the businesses are a ripoff which comes close to alleging fraud. And of course there is only their testimony. In those cases, more for the protection of the poster than the business, we set those topics invisible because allegations of illegal activities, particularly if they are not true (we have no way of knowing) the original poster could be subject to a libel. While we would likely be named in such litigation, the plain fact is that the consumer has a real option in this if they are alleging fraud.
     
    Basically, what they need to do is go file a small claim in magistrate court and detail their cost/injury and then, with an active court case, we will let the allegation stand in a public (as opposed to restricted) forum. Essentially, you go to court you can talk about your court case. Now your attorney, assuming you have one, will tell you not to but if you go to court, you can.
     
    My experience though is that few will - very few - go to the trouble of bringing a law suit. They'd rather come her and complain and not realize that their unfounded, unsubstantiated, complaints made out of motives that range from competitive advantage to meanness and vindictiveness to personal greed and stupidity risks the entire venture. But what do they care; they didn't invest in pcom and more often than not, they aren't even paying members. They felt wronged and if it breaks pubby because businesses are afraid to advertise there, what do their care. And then they complain because we don't put their complaint front and center.
     
     
     
    I understand how, with a distorted view of what our rules are, you might think that but you'd be dead wrong. First, as stated above, we routinely (when we see them) move topics critical of businesses - we're a little less strict when it comes to restaurant reviews that concentrate on service or stories that relate to a creep lurking in the parking lot at wallyworld - to the covert condescension forum.
     
    Our active protection is limited to topics started by biz members promoting their business. Again, don't rain on their parade.
     
    Other rules are that you don't put non-biz member business names in titles, and you don't provide phone numbers, street directions, maps, emails or active website links to non-business members. If you work in a non-biz member company and you know of a job opening, you can state the name of the business and the job and job description but not the salary or contact phone or street address ... and don't put the business name in the title of the topic. Also, just have the members interested contact you for the essential information.
     
    This contrasts with what Biz members can do. They can post their business name in the topic title, host a recruitment video, publish their telephone number in a big font and put live links to their application (or web site) in the topic.
     
    Recommendations of businesses again are common on pcom for both biz member and non-biz members. Again, you can name, say an attorney that your recommend that doesn't advertise here but while you can say he's from Douglasville or Marietta, you can't put out his number (advertising) or his street address (advertising) or an active link to the website of the firm.
     
    Again if someone complains about any business, we move the topic to covert condescension regardless of whether the business is a member or not. Since non-business members can't start topics, it is by definition impossible for someone to be dinged for raining on their parade on pcom because them making a topic advertising their business is not allowed.
     
    The point is the only pro-active moderation done for business members that isn't done for all members is dinging people for raining on their parade. We actually protect non-members from criticism by disallowing the use of business names for non-members in our titles. (ex. wallyworld, mickeydees, k-Roger, etc.)
     
    We don't extort businesses in the community.
     
     
     
    And just how are we supposed to know about how ethical or unethical a business is? We're not the government and we don't wiretap. We do however, report news about business members when they are arrested for activities from trademark infringement to arrests made for running a grow farm for dope. We also allow those members who file a law suit alleging fraud or slick business dealings to talk about official court actions in public forums.
     
    What you really want to say, diehardky, is that we don't take your word over the word of a business member when you don't even have the courage of your convictions to file a suit (or maybe, really, when it is all said and done, you didn't have a case at all.)
     
     
     
     
    And some members, in an effort to kill pcom, have adopted a rather odd strategy of slandering all business members on the site believing they can successfully destroy the site they oppose for political reasons by doing so.
     
    If you're curious about a business member, start a topic on what you want done and ask for opinions. There is a good likelihood if something negative comes up, it will end up in covert condescension. While not part of our internal search, you can review topics in that forum if you choose to look.
     
    And again, I've been encouraged to make that forum available only to paying members but have resisted that.
     
    This was a long post but subtlety cannot be expressed too succinctly or else it looses its subtlety. This was a teaching moment.
     
    This topic is now closed and this post is also promoted to a blog post.
     
    pubby I
     
    Source: My Post about the man in front of DD...
  9. gpatt0n

    August reading

    By gpatt0n,

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/world/asia/iranian-president-is-sworn-in-and-presents-a-new-cabinet-of-familiar-faces.html?hpw
    http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/disruptions-rather-than-time-computers-might-become-panacea-to-hurt/?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/business/workers-of-amazon-divergent.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/arts/design/buy-local-gets-creative.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/arts/television/surviving-cbss-fight-with-time-warner-cable.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/us/other-agencies-clamor-for-data-nsa-compiles.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/world/interpol-issues-alert-on-prison-breaks-in-9-nations.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/nyregion/with-education-as-economic-engine-ithaca-thrives-in-struggling-region.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/science/monogamys-boost-to-human-evolution.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/business/energy-environment/company-says-its-the-first-to-make-ethanol-from-waste.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/health/for-medical-tourists-simple-math.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/magazine/stephen-kings-family-business.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/dowd-whos-that-candidate-in-the-teal-toenail-polish.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/sunday-review/life-in-a-toxic-country.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/garden/banning-guests-that-bite-or-buzz.html?hpw
    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/is-there-any-point-to-economic-analysis/
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/03/crumbling-american-dreams/
    http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/the-tyranny-of-the-minority/
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/us/politics/gop-push-to-slash-food-stamps-puts-farm-bill-in-jeopardy.html?src=rechp
    http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/wheelies-the-natural-gas-pickups-edition/?src=rechp
    http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/with-arrests-signs-of-justice-in-slaying-of-costa-rican-turtle-guardian/?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/03/business/a-hankering-for-hybrids.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/arts/television/surviving-cbss-fight-with-time-warner-cable.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/fashion/katharine-weymouth-takes-charge-at-the-washington-post.html?src=dayp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/business/for-obamacare-to-work-everyone-must-be-in.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/bruni-the-freak-show-as-fable.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/douthat-return-of-the-jesus-wars.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/sunday-review/when-politics-catches-up-with-portnoy.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/ben-schott-job-jibber-jabber.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/us/as-trial-begins-in-fort-hood-spree-experts-see-landmark-case.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/world/us-extends-closing-of-some-diplomatic-posts.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/how-to-whitewash-a-plague.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/the-woman-who-ate-cutlery.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/the-whistle-blowers-quandary.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/sunday-review/a-washington-riddle-what-is-top-secret.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/i-am-tom-i-like-to-type-hear-that.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/sunday-dialogue-can-suburbs-help-cities.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/thestrip?ref=opinion
  10. gpatt0n
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/magazine/jimmy-wales-is-not-an-internet-billionaire.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/magazine/how-to-succeed-in-the-legal-pot-business.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/technology/detroit-embracing-new-auto-technologies-seeks-app-builders.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/automobiles/when-fuel-economy-improves-but-filling-the-tank-costs-more.html?hpw
    http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/the-media-immigration-and-g-o-p-donorism/
    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/moochers-grifters-and-the-beveridge-curve/
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/how-to-listen/
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/us/updates-to-drivers-education-reflect-new-dangers-on-the-road.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/world/europe/financial-crisis-amplifies-educations-value.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/health/experts-scramble-to-trace-the-emergence-of-mers.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/arts/television/through-the-wormhole-considers-mind-reading.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/business/media/the-bible-a-hit-on-cable-will-have-its-sequel-on-nbc.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/science/space/timeless-questions-about-the-universe.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/nyregion/time-warner-intends-to-move-to-planned-west-side-tower.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/world/europe/snowden-speaks-out-in-moscow-for-first-time.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/us/politics/feinsteins-support-for-nsa-defies-liberal-critics-and-repute.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/us/politics/gop-groups-offering-cover-for-lawmakers-on-immigration.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/us/arizona-blaze-rages-on-as-crews-cope-with-death-of-19-firefighters.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/world/middleeast/egypt-protests.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/world/middleeast/mideast-chaos-grows-as-us-focuses-on-israel.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/business/global/loan-practices-of-chinas-banks-raising-concern.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/world/europe/snowden-applies-for-asylum-in-russia.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/opinion/justice-for-big-business.html?ref=opinion
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/the-new-prostitutes/?ref=opinion
  11. gpatt0n
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/opinion/surveillance-a-threat-to-democracy.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/opinion/friedman-blowing-a-whistle.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/opinion/the-price-of-the-panopticon.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/opinion/surveillance-snowden-doesnt-rise-to-traitor.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/us/nsa-disclosures-put-awkward-light-on-official-statements.html?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/us/nsa-disclosures-put-awkward-light-on-official-statements.html?hp
    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/poll-finds-disapproval-but-little-personal-concern-about-record-collection/?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/opinion/kennedys-civil-rights-triumph.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/opinion/surveillance-a-threat-to-democracy.html?hpw
    http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/insurers-inflating-books-new-york-regulator-says/?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/the-weird-world-of-colonoscopy-costs.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/opinion/brooks-the-solitary-leaker.html?src=me&ref=general
    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/poll-finds-disapproval-but-little-personal-concern-about-record-collection/?hp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/opinion/kennedys-civil-rights-triumph.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/opinion/surveillance-a-threat-to-democracy.html?hpw
    http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/insurers-inflating-books-new-york-regulator-says/?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/the-weird-world-of-colonoscopy-costs.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/opinion/brooks-the-solitary-leaker.html?src=me&ref=general
     
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/business/fraud-against-seniors-often-is-routed-through-banks.html?src=me&ref=general
    v
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/us/us-moves-to-declare-captive-chimps-endangered.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/douthat-your-smartphone-is-watching-you.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/automobiles/autoreviews/aiming-for-the-hybrids-sweet-spot.html?hpw
    http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/power-and-privacy-on-the-internet/
    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/blogging-disrupted-by-bomb-threat/
    http://nocera.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/the-gun-report-june-11-2013/
  12. gpatt0n
    Here are some links from perusing today's NYTimes I think are worth reading.
     
    The Senate looks at raising taxes by taxing Internet sales (Is the party over?)
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/technology/internet-sales-tax-gains-ground-in-senate.html?hp
     
    Can psychotherapy help old farts?
    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/how-therapy-can-help-in-the-golden-years/?hp
     
    Can Americans be non-violent?
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/is-american-nonviolence-possible/?hp
     
    Editorial on hands and eating
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/the-hand-that-feeds-us/?hp
     
    How to handle the Boston case?
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/opinion/how-to-handle-a-terrorism-case.html?hp
     
    4.23/2013 developments on Boston bombing
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/us/boston-marathon-bombings-developments.html?hp
     
    Tim McVeigh vs. "Joker" Tsarnaev what's the diff??
    http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/whats-the-difference-between-mcveigh-and-tsarnaev/?hp
     
    Russians put blogger on trial - Bill Keller opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/opinion/keller-a-blogger-on-trial-in-russia.html?hp
     
    Krugman on the jobless trap
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/opinion/krugman-the-jobless-trap.html?hp
     
    Kids suffer from pollution in today's China
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/world/asia/pollution-is-radically-changing-childhood-in-chinas-cities.html?hp
     
    Five year old child raped in India
    http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/04/22/world/asia/100000002185630/rage-after-child-rape-in-india.html
     
    Tablets as cash registers in small business
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/technology/with-tablets-businesses-ring-up-at-more-fanciful-cash-registers.html?hpw
     
    Germany fines google over data collection
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/technology/germany-fines-google-over-data-collection.html?hpw
     
    Marathon bombing update
    http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/updates-in-the-aftermath-of-the-boston-marathon-bombing/?hpw
     
    Boston bombings create clash at Senate immigration hearing
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/us/politics/senators-at-immigration-hearing-clash-over-boston-bombings.html?hpw
     
    A NYTimes QnA on the immigration measure before the Senate
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/us/politics/q-and-a-the-senate-immigration-bill.html?hpw
     
    the bright idea of across the board cuts delaying flights
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/us/politics/flights-delayed-amid-furloughs-of-air-controllers.html?hpw
     
    Texan carjacks yellow cab in NYC ... Didn't Dennis Weaver do that in his TV show?
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/nyregion/man-carjacks-yellow-taxi-in-manhattan.html?hpw
     
    TV pilots judged by the masses (I actually viewed a pilot; wonder if it is mentioned?
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/arts/television/original-pilots-judged-by-the-masses.html?hpw
     
    Newsbiz gaming?
    http://open.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/the-best-of-newsgaming-at-the-editors-lab/
     
    Gold a speculative commodity?
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/business/gold-currency-to-some-is-acting-like-a-speculative-commodity.html?src=rechp
     
    G-20 governments consider concerted effort to curb tax evasion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/business/global/g-20-pushes-for-measures-to-end-tax-evasion.html?src=rechp
     
    Did conspiracy motivate suspect in ricin case?
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/us/politics/mississippi-suspect-in-ricin-case-feared-conspiracy.html?src=rechp
     
    Viacom loses in youtube copyright case
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/business/media/judge-rules-against-viacom-in-copyright-suit-against-youtube.html?src=rechp
     
    Cyberattacks are a huge threat to startups and investors
    http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/cyberattacks-a-huge-threat-to-start-ups-and-their-investors/?src=rechp
     
    How businesses employ a business form to avoid taxes
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/business/restyled-as-real-estate-trusts-varied-businesses-avoid-taxes.html?src=me&ref=general
     
    Dog minds - story about pack mentality
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/science/enlisting-a-virtual-pack-to-study-dog-minds.html?src=me&ref=general
  13. gpatt0n
    In the following piece I conjure the idea that the way to fund mental health care might be to impose an excise tax on the purchase of or distribution of graphically violent content such as TV shows, movies and video games based on the degree of violence depicted in the content.
     
    The biggest problem may be the constitutionality of taxing something so intertwined with speech. However, one quick thought is that the tax may solve this, at least in the context of movies, is a tax on the sale of the tickets. In the case of television, it might be able to be applied to the price of the commercials that adjoin the content.
     
    Just thinking about it.
     
    pubby
     
     
     
     
    The responsible gun owner is not the problem. Assuming that cops are going to go door to door collecting weapons is the most absurd thought imaginable. I mean the it is just not feasible to send 30 cops to every residence and bust down the door. And it is unconstitutional as well.
     
    You're problem is you don't know anything other than the second amendment. Think about the provision regarding expost facto laws. The gun you own today legally is going to be legally owned tomorrow.
     
    The term 'ban' refers to the manufacture and/or consumer marketing of a particular style of weapon or a particular kind of magazine. It says we have 30 million (or whatever number there are) of semi-automatic military-type assault rifles in households and we don't need 30 million more. Enough is enough ... pull them off the shelves in Walmart, Bass Pro shop, your local pawn shop and the sports authority (assuming they sell the dang things.)
     
    Mr. Gun Manufacturer, you can stockpile the one's you have and sell them to LEO, to military contracts or possibly, if we get another president like Reagan, trade them for hostages in Iran ... but you can't market them to the survivalists after June 1, 2013.
     
    The DA in Newark or the Mayor in NY will offer bounties for guns and some people will turn in old bolt action .22's, rusty with pitted barrel Barretas, and the occasional bushmaster to get them out of the house and knowing they don't want their teen to use the weapon for a suicide; or to knock of the 7/11. There are reasons folks turn in weapons some will. Others will be stolen, illegally dealt or otherwise become black market items that, bye and bye are confiscated as evidence in criminal proceedings and are destroyed. Over the next 50 years, with possible further restrictions, the number of guns may shrink from 300,000,000 million to 275,000,000. Gun deaths drop as more of the guns are in the hands of responsible owners and fewer are easily available to criminals and gun violence drops, in large part because guns and associated violence is just not as popular culturally. A drop of ten percent is better than a ten percent increase. A drop of twenty or thirty percent in violence is even better.
     
    But no one is coming you house to take your guns except possibly criminals and if obviously, if you're threatened and cap them in the act, the crime rate may decline incrementally as well.
     
    Still the problem with gun violence, as we all know, is due to criminals and crazies. Improved access and effectiveness of mental health services will also contribute but possibly the biggest contribution is the understanding by youth and adults alike, that fear is less a factor and the dependence some in society that use guns as a medical aid to calm their fears may also subside. If it does, it will probably be because the media and gun manufacturers also grasp that glorifying violence and hyping fear are no longer paths to success. Heck, maybe you create a new tax - not a lot of money maybe - that says if you graphically depict a murder by gun you have to pay $0.03 cents a thousand viewers (the tax being used to fund mental health services). A graphic 'death' by knife might cost $0.025 per thousand. Similarly, a duty may be assessed on the audiences even of the cable networks for the same mental health program for each hour devoted to reporting of a murder or other crime on broadcast or cable. Local television stations may have to pay a duty for reporting violent murders from outside their ADI or DMA. Violent video games - graphic shooters or slashers - get a special tax added, also earmarked to mental health.
     
    Those who include that kind of content in their media because it attracts audiences would contribute to the fallout including the subtle level of fear such programming instills. They don't want to pay the tax, show something else and don't pay the for violent content tax.
     
    The cumulative effect of these kinds of, what I think are common sense reforms, will lower the level of fear generated by media and entertainment, will provide a funding mechanism for mental health services. Heck, instead of an outright ban on 'military assault type rifles' a $100 license fee or excise tax, the proceeds dedicated to mental health services, might be an alternative.
     
    Again, no one is coming after your guns. Momentum in society may change overnight - the concept of the tipping point - but true change takes years if not decades.
     
    the constitution's goal for the future is not a 'perfect union' ... just a more perfect union, a better union. As stated in another post, a gun under every pillow is not the American dream; it is the American nightmare.
     
    Guns remain the only consumer product whose primary purpose is to kill humans. Sure a car might kill people and even might be used to kill; but its primary purpose is to get you from point A to B. But guns aren't apriori bad just as people aren't apriori bad. However, bad people with guns are unequivocally bad. We need fewer of both and engineering society for that output represents progress to a more perfect union.
     
    The idea that someone is going to come get your guns is a straw man argument created by those whose goal is to sell you more guns and ammo today and even more tomorrow. You don't owe them a damn thing. We all just need to be willing to compromise for the greater good and frankly, they can suck it up just like the tobacco barons. Oh, you know you can still buy a pack of cigs.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: The Gun Topic:
  14. gpatt0n
    My take on this is a bit more nuanced.
     
    First, the film is nothing more than an excuse to whip up a mob and get their juices going.
     
    In the case of the attack in Egypt and the silence of the current government; the manipulation you're seeing is one from the civilian "muslim brotherhood" faction that is and has been in an internal fight for power with the Egyptian military.
     
    The US, since Camp David in 1979, has been funding and training the Egyptian military and the civilian group seeks to hurt, damage, limit the influence of the military in the Egyptian government.
     
    If you were a sly, manipulative guy, what kind of strategy would you employ?
     
    Well, you'd see that foreign aid is one of the bills up for reauthorization on the Hill and that the likelihood is that there is about $3-4 billion in funding for your local political enemy, the Egyptian military. What could you do to sabotage that?
     
    How about starting a "war" with the Americans? But you have no military because they want the $3-4 billion heading their way. What to do? What to do?
     
    Easy ... you whip up a mob and have them attack the American embassy. How do you whip up a mob? You have allies in that ... the extremists on the other side. Just pull something out of their ass and show it and point to the American Embassy and you've got your war.
     
    So how about Libya. We know that the US Ambassador was well connected and respected in Libya and had been a key resource for the Rebels as they over threw Gaddafi. Again, internal politics and the undermining of the faction that is gaining strength from its association with us. Notably, as diplomats, we look for others besides religious fundamentalists as our working partners in these countries. As per principal, we are accepting and tolerant as per religious fundamentalists there just as we are here.
     
    Unfortunately, that sentiment toward toleration and compromise is one not shared by fundamentalists anywhere.
     
    So, if you're this fundamentalist intent on taking your country back to the seventh century what is the best course of action?
     
    Again, start a war with the United States.
     
    Don't have an army (They hardly ever do.) no matter, get you a mob and do what? Attack the American Embassy. In the case of Libya, you can further erode your political oppositions strength by killing the 'infidel' with which they deal locally.
     
    Bottomline ... these fundamentalists are our enemy. They represent a small portion of the population in these countries and they are making a real play for power. It is to their advantage to have a war with the United States and the notion of being occupied (Like Iraq or Afghanistan) is not an issue. The dynamics of recruiting and making large portions of the population fundamentalist actually is helped dramatically by 'occupation' by a foreign power.
     
    So, how would you handle this delicate bit of foreign intrigue?
     
    Well, even Mitt Romney's not saying we should attack and occupy these countries.
     
    Our commitment has to be to keeping moderate people in power and keeping the fundamentalists out of power.
     
    Any approach is tricky.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: America Attacked Again
  15. gpatt0n
    Tuesday night, after two weeks off, I happened to Catch Jon Stewart's return to the Daily Show comedy news.
     
    He opened with the funniest, hardest hitting, self-deprecating video editorial in my memory. My jaw was agape.
     
    Here it is in three installments. Watch one, watch the second and watch the third and you'll know how silly the polarizing language used by today's 'dividers' is ...
     

    The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
    Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
     
    This was enough for the first installment but you've got to keep going. This next segment is continues where the one above ends ...
     

    The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
    Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
     
    Why they put this into three segments on the web, I don't know ... it is most effectively a totality of sillyfying prose.
     

    The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
    Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
     
    And there you have it ... a complete and utter udder of political milk as sprayed with the cream coming to the top only when you view the three sections in sequence.
     
    The truth can get no funnier.
     
    pubby
  16. gpatt0n
    In another topic I suggested that folks could use the blog-entry area to talk politics (or any other subject for that matter) instead of directing people to a specific forum. The belief is that blogs give individuals greater control over their writing and the commentary associated with it.
    This post tests a small aspect of this potential use.
    gpatton
  17. gpatt0n

    reading links

    By gpatt0n,

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/nyregion/an-exaltation-of-moths-much-maligned-kin-of-the-butterfly.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/dining/in-praise-of-the-trusty-rice-cooker.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/dining/fluffy-tasty-tricky.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/automobiles/collectibles/this-1918-cadillac-type-57-served-in-world-war-i.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/upshot/what-the-internet-can-see-from-your-cat-pictures.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/business/media/under-the-feet-of-giants.html?mabReward=RI%3A8
    http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/a-reassuring-american-presence-joins-talks-on-climate-change-with-china/?mabReward=RI%3A8
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/world/middleeast/staying-the-course-on-iran-by-threatening-pain-and-offering-relief.html?mabReward=RI%3A8
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/upshot/how-technology-aided-by-recession-is-transforming-the-work-world.html?mabReward=RI%3A8
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/22/science/corralling-carbon-before-it-belches-from-stack.html?mabReward=RI%3A8
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/22/us/millennials-government-and-mistrust.html?mabReward=RI:8&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=0
  19. gpatt0n
    A little known fact about the Romney name.
     
    It would appear that his Great, Great grandaddy coined the name from his association with the Republican party when Utah was trying to get statehood. He was a leader in the Mormon church but more importantly, he was dyslexic. Yes, he was Dyslexic. He was also from the southeastern part of Europe where the names are particularly hard to spell and pronounce. He found it necessary to change his name like many millions of others from that region who came to America.
     
    Seems he was well respected and trusted, so much so he was given the task of lobbying for statehood amongst the majority Republican Congress back in the late 19th century. Anyone familiar with lobbying in those days knows that it was even more like bribery than today's corrupt campaign finance system.
     
    Anyway, his task was to take money to Washington for the payoff to the Republican senators and representatives. Another member of the church was charged with providing the payoff money for Democrats ... but the biggest pile was set aside for the Republicans so this was the most responsible job in the delegation.
     
    This was a true quirk of fate.
     
    The man was passing out the cash and had put the elder's first name down and then, skipping a couple of columns, put in the amount.
     
    There wasn't enough room for the notation of what the money was about so in the column after his first name, his initial (for his impossible to spell his name) the secretary noting the disbursement put down Romney instead of Rmoney.
     
    Mitt's great great grand dad saw it, liked it and adopted the name Romney because it made him feel good to know it actually means Republican money ... Rmoney.
     
    So, the rest of the story is that whole family name should really be Rmoney ... and they've enjoyed Republican money ever since. It is an inside joke.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: How did Romney get his name?
  20. gpatt0n
    Well, if you give up, I'm disappointed in you Mr. Dis. If anyone should know that the grass isn't greener on the other side of the road, it is you
     
    What you don't realize is that what you're talking about on the other side is nothing like a desire to dole out goodies - that good free stuff - but rather a pragmatic understanding that people get really obnoxious ... and really really free ... if they have nothing, nada, to lose.
     
    Oh a few in that circumstance will become clinically depressed and kill themselves. The stress of having nothing or little to nothing will drive some others to strike out quite publicly killing others and usually committing suicide by police.
     
    But the greatest number will just resort to rolling drunks, holding up the elderly, selling drugs or committing burglary or robbery to survive.
     
    Indeed it hardly seems liberal to me to offer folks who have such small imaginations as they can't figure out something to do that will make them money legally an alternative to their mayhem that will, if nothing else, land them in prison for a year, two, five or fifty ... on my tab at $40 grand a year to cage them.
     
    Don't get me wrong; some need to be caged but there are quite a few that all they need is something in their belly, a roof over their head and prime time free TV entertainment ... and maybe some clothes.
     
    Frankly, I agree we need to be careful - more careful than we have been - in aligning the incentives with this type of assistance. I mean the whole thing about destroying families is part of the assistance routine that required that a man/husband could not be in the household if the family was to get aid for their dependent children.
     
    It is also obvious that education is a key component to the building the value of that family in the society as a whole. Now no one expects every family to be raising a crop of Einsteins. But being in school and other positive activities need to have incentives attached to them.
     
    The point is that rather than looking at the subject of 'assistance' as a black hole that has no benefit - too many from the far right are getting that same attitude with education BTW - the real challenge is to make transform that whole rubric into a positive, growing experience.
     
    Of course the society of work would need to transform as well and frankly, that is the real obstacle here.
     
    Yes, too many businesses want employees to shovel cheese 60 hours a week for half-minimum wage with no benefits and are resentful of a government that would feed, clothe and house the prime worker and require he/she do nothing. I mean unless you wanted that kind of workout, the shoveling job would be shoved.
     
    Heck, once upon a time in the days of the military draft, there was an expectation, especially amongst youth, that you should find something to do because if you didn't Uncle Sam would show you how to a number of things including marching, digging ditches and peeling potatoes. That prospect was a motivating force for many youths, who by the way could opt for pursuits like job corps, vista, and other stipend-based public service programs. (Did you know that in Georgia, there are several volunteer projects - some that include living stipends - for projects such as Veterans assistance - through AmeriCorps VISA?
     
    There are ways to do things; make things happen.
     
    There is one more thing and this revolves around the concept of economics.
     
    It revolves around the very nature of confidence.
     
    Let's imagine, just for a moment, that instead of having our feet on the sold earth, we are instead crew members of the Enterprise of Star Trek fame.
     
    We are star stuff zooming through time and distances measured in light years. We have everything we need on the ship. We have food, clothing and shelter. We are on a mission. The one thing I don't recall in the series was the presence of good old fashioned money yet the ship operated, people were fed and everyone knew and did their jobs. It worked because everyone had confidence in Kirk, the crew and each other. That confidence was their currency.
     
    Now fly back to earth. When you think of money you may conjure those coins left on the dresser; maybe a few bills in your wallet but if the truth is known, if you were to confiscate every paper dollar and every coin and compare that to the balance sheets in the banks of computers, you would find that all the currency in the world doesn't add up to much more than three or four percent of the dollars on the ledgers.
     
    That money on those ledgers was created by banks who loan it out at varying rates of interest after literally creating it from something akin to thin air.
     
    How does this monetary system work? I mean Good GOD, 95 percent of the money is nothing more than a series of bits and bytes in some computer?
     
    Scary isn't it
     
    So how does it work? How can it work? Why does it work?
     
    Easy ... it all works because we have confidence that it works and will work.
     
    The real problem we faced in late 2008 is, in my mind, something like a game of musical chairs except in stead of chairs, there were piles of cash. The music stopped and people went scrambling for their pile of cash, elbowing those around them for as much as they could grab. Some - many people - were hurt when the elbow grab was translated into 750,000 jobs lost.
     
    Uncle Sam stepped in and helped quash the panic and everyone had confidence that he could.
     
    Fact is, if you look at who came out of that game of musical chairs, it was folks like Goldman Sachs and a few others who had a lot to begin with and who, in their own way, were responsible for the crash. Oh there were others, like the folks who had made money flipping ever bigger houses in the bubble that were involved too, but we know that some folks won big while other folks lost in the crash.
     
    It is also pretty much understood that financial crashes, because they cost millions millions and enrich just a few hundred big, are to be avoided; although the big winners may even want to 'do it again' given they never had it so good. Still, one of the big things to consider with financial crashes is that confidence is the biggest looser.
     
    The other thing to remember is that the reason 'commerce' virtually ceases in these circumstances is because money is not moving around. You don't have money to buy from me nor I from you. Exchange, which is what the economy is based on, can't happen if there isn't money available to facilitate it.
     
    That's why in our 2009 crash, uncle sam's sending of social security checks, the states pumping money into the economy via unemployment and food stamps, etc. was effective in keeping 'some' money circulating. Those and other stimulus kept most things (except housing) from entering the death spiral of deflation.
     
    In all this, the one thing that probably hurt us most as a nation was the total lack of confidence those on the right had in the government.
     
    When you think of elements like the starve the beast strategy, which incidentally is the theory behind the no tax increase pledge, and its impact on things like the credit of the nation and you wonder why Obama won?
     
    It wasn't just Mitch O'Connell's pledge to make Obama a one-term president, it was the seeming undermining of the nation's confidence on every level that was repugnant to regular Americans. Indeed, it was the vote of No-confidence in the American worker voiced by Mitt when he wrote that we should let America's automobile industry go bankrupt at time that it would likely be busted up and sold for scrap that cost him the election.
     
    Bottom line, buck a bit. Show you have confidence in the nation 'cause the American people have spoken that they've had enough of this negative crap. Or, if you want, go move to Costa Rica. We believe in freedom; we believe in choice. Where we differ and have differed is in our Belief in America.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: Don't kill the messenger
  21. gpatt0n
    The group is called NO LABELS
     
    One of the leaders of it is Mark McKinnon - a Republican - who has been counseling those in congress to compromise. He's been counseling them to stay in Washington so they can get to know other MOC's (Members of Congress). Oh, and they have a program designed to make Congress work.
     
    The first thing on the agenda is a provision that says, No budget, no pay. Congress has to pass a budget before they get paid.
     
    There are a ton of other basically common sense ideas put forth by this 'grass roots' effort that has over 600,000 members.
     
    The idea is to make some structural changes that they, and I, believe will help foster compromise based on developing smart, pragmatic solutions to the problems. A good idea is a good idea regardless of the side of the aisle the idea comes. Heck, one idea is to just change the seating arrangement so that the house is no longer divided by party affiliation.
     
    Incidentally, the group recognizes that everyone need a little trim (including the bankers and bonuses) as we are all in this together and I think the no budget/no pay is the main thrust in that.
     
    Here is a video that explains their ideas better. You'll see folks from Cory Booker (Mayor of Newark, NJ) to Ok. Senator Tom Colburn with a lot of other folks you'll recognize. (None are from Georgia, BTW).
     

     
    Oh, and I am and have been a member and on their list for a time. I'm going to share an email. It will ask your email and it will send the message attached. If you enter your info, it will then ask you for money but you don't have to contribute. Your voice is enough and I'd rather you keep your money and spend it in Paulding.
     
     
    pubby
     
    Source: In all this, one group has been beating the drum of cooperation
  22. gpatt0n
    Wild and crazy revelation. I had written this short about a fellow I met in Watonga Oklahoma - Ernie Hoberecht - and I apparently initially misspelled the name back in 2003. Oh well, I have the feeling that those UPI underlings would find that not only funny, but fitting given the ego that was Hoberecht.
     
    So you'll understand better, here is the link to him in google search.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: Is Paulding.com the first to do the TV thing?
  23. gpatt0n
    The knee-jerk reaction to our aid package for Egypt is that since they attacked our embassy, we should cut them off and walk away.
     
    In an earlier post in the referenced topic, I suggested that what we've had with Egypt is something akin to a marriage. With any marriage there are good times and bad.
     
    Of course that analogy is far from perfect but it does help us understand some aspects of the relationship and why we should strive to be understanding; as we would be understanding of our spouse.
     
    But then there is the real-politic of the Camp David accords and aid, in this case makes perfect sense.
     
    I mean the tacit quid pro quo of our agreement is that if they organize to attack Israel, the money stops, all the parts to keep the stuff you got stops, we know what you have, Israel will know what you have and we've given them as good if not better (with our aid to Israel) and we're on the hook to kick ass if you attack Israel. Not attacking Israel, our primary and overriding goal in this relationship, is the only course of action and they can't help but see it.
     
    But what they have not really seen is the Miracle that we helped create... which was our part in their peaceful revolution.
     
    See, we got to build understanding with the military folks through training (a good part of the aid) and our military manufacturers get to create jobs here because they're selling that stuff there.
     
    The understanding that came from training of their military, I'll point out, is one of the main reasons we had the Miracle of Tahrir Square. Think what is going on with Syria (and their weapons come from the Russians) or even what happened in China after Tienanmen Square in 1990 or so.
     
    To me that is a true miracle and evidence of the higher power that we embrace ... that is hopefully birthing freedom.
     
    The point is that we've had good, positive relations with the Egyptians for 30+ years. It was easy when they were ruled by a military dictator and the people there were submissive.
     
    And as we all know, if a spouse is in fear and submissive as a result, once they conquer that fear, there is a deficit of trust that could cause a breakup. Nations are not like marriages in this sense but the dynamics of what is transpiring is such that we need to recognize the Egyptian's need for 'space' at this time.
     
    They still associate us with the dictatorship, which is to say we were the friend - enabling friend of their brutal husband. They don't quite trust us ... and they won't until they see it was our training of their military that put the military on the sideline allowing them the miracle of an almost violence-free revolution. What a blessing and gift ... I trust they will see it.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: Egypt
  24. gpatt0n
    We all know that politics is more than theater ... it is often a magic show in the context of now you see it, now you don't.
     
    The GOP position is that rates are fine where they are; we can deal with the loopholes and while we might claw back some from loopholes for this 'deal' we are experts in manufacturing loopholes ... some that can be very, very specific ... and these loopholes can be hidden as amendments in legislation of all kinds.
     
    We all know that politics is not a game that is played fairly. With more than 40,000 lobbyists looking to gain advantage in the tax code for their special interest, playing the game on this plane is one that is has the added benefit of being so complex that it can be played openly in secret.
     
    Now marginal tax rates are simple, easy for all to understand and apply to all 'players' regardless.
     
    Tax rate changes, because of this simplicity, are easy to see and observe - actions involving them are by definition transparent.
     
    It is this transparency and equality in taxes that is recognized by Norquist's pledge which has Republican lawmakers promise not to increase the marginal tax rate under any circumstances.
     
    This document is the revolutionary document of the right which seeks to employ the starve the beast strategy to bankrupt the nation.
     
    Think, for a moment, about the GOP option limiting deductions to $50,000 per person. How long do you think that will stand when you realize that this approach would primarily limit deductions for charitable giving by the wealthy. Who on either side of the aisle would stand against a charitable gift exemption when hundreds of charities go bankrupt because they no longer can get the support of big donors?
     
    I should add that raising the tax rate would actually increase the incentive and encourage giving as the tax avoided by such gifts would increase from 35% of earned income to 39.5 percent.
     
    And it is notable as well that the increased tax rate is only on taxes due for income OVER the $250,000 level ... i.e. the person earning $300,000 pays the same 'Bush' tax rates for net income under $250,000 as they do now and pay the higher rate only on that $50,000 above the rate break.
     
    One of the options offered by the GOP would be to apply the top rate to all income meaning that the person earning under $50,000 would be penalized for earning $55,000 (and would actually take home less than the person making $49,999.) as this GOP inspired approach would 'penalize' all taxpayers for earning more.
     
    This approach increases taxes on the middle class and does create a disincentive to earn more. Proposing it is an inside joke on the part of the Republicans because they would not only get their way on maintaining current marginal rates, but it also is inherently unfair because it, unlike the current stepped rates (Millionaires pay the same rate on the first $250,000 as the person making $250,000), it provides penalizes earning more. But its main purpose is it confuses the issue and keeps the tax discussion from focusing on the marginal tax rate as the way to adjust taxation.
     
    It really is a matter of transparency in taxation vs. opaqueness in taxation and the latter approach benefits the current members of the Congress by giving them a way to sell 'special treatment' using the corruption of the congressional campaign finance system. And as we all know, that system overwhelmingly favors those in the professional political class for holding office for life.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: Why are Democrats insisting on an increase in rates?
  25. gpatt0n

    Eddie invents Oxymoron

    By gpatt0n,

    Eddie, you've done it now!
     
    You've invented, in my mind, a new oxymoron.
     
    Congratulations.
     
    We should endeavor to get Red State Socialism, placed on the oxymoron list.
     
    Here is the official list for oxymoron's starting with R from http://www.oxymoronlist.com/
     
    R & D (research and development)
    radical center
    Random Logic
    (also Fuzzy Logic)
    random order
    randomly organized
    Random pattern
    rap artist
    rapid transit
    Rare steak
    rarely done
    rational ravings
    Reagan Democrat
    Reagan memoirs
    real fantasy
    real magic
    real phony
    real polyester
    real potential
    Realistic fantasy
    realistic liberal
    Realistic schedule
    realistic simulation
    reasonable attorney fees
    reasonable fees
    reasonable medical fees
    reasonable pharmaceutical costs
    Rebel Without a Cause
    recent history
    Recently new
    reckless caution
    recoilless rifle
    Recorded live
    re-create
    recreational burning
    recycling dump
    red licorice
    regional pantheists
    regular special
    rehearsed improvisation
    relative stranger
    relative truth
    Religious Tolerance
    remotely obvious
    removable sticker
    renegade lawmakers
    Representative Democracy
    required donation
    Republican Party
    required elective
    resident alien
    resolute ambivalence
    restless sleep
    Restrained grandparent
    Retired Worker
    rich country, poor people
    rising deficits
    roaring silence
    rock opera
    rogue cop
    rolling stop
    roomy airline-coach seats
    round corner
    Round edges
    routine emergency
    routine surgery
    Rubber Bones
    RUBBER CEMENT
    rules of war
    running idle
    running in place
    rush hour
    Rustic elegance
    Russian economy
     
    I have to admit, though, I was most surprised but quickly understood why Republican Party made the list.
     
    Again, congrats.
     
    pubby
     
     
    This was inspired in the quote above in this topic: http://paulding.com/forum/index.php/topic/295918-your-freedom-on-the-line-again-now-they-want-access-to-your-txts/page__view__getnewpost__fromsearch__1
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