tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post2557666355043409202..comments2024-03-28T20:53:49.167-04:00Comments on The Adventures of Roberta X: Canaries In Coal Mines And The Art Of The PossibleRoberta Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-60716407670806355962014-01-06T01:58:35.330-05:002014-01-06T01:58:35.330-05:00And that worked out so well for the average French...And that worked out so well for the average Frenchman.Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-34539707575763449802014-01-05T12:16:40.536-05:002014-01-05T12:16:40.536-05:00This multiple sets of laws is what caused the Fren...This multiple sets of laws is what caused the French Revolution, to the extent that there was great simmering resentment over one set of laws for the "nobility", another for the churchmen, and another for Jean Valjean and his ilk. Windy Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01951254236693386401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-76133578719241453952014-01-05T09:05:24.804-05:002014-01-05T09:05:24.804-05:00'The problem lies not in Washington, nor in th...'The problem lies not in Washington, nor in the system, but in the heart of your neighbor who says "there ought to be a law." '<br /><br />What got Clark so spooled up was the fact that there are two different sets of laws, one set for the Important People and another, much harsher set for everyone else.<br /><br />This particular incident involved a judge who had sentenced many people to prison for putting unapproved substances in their bodies, but when she herself was found to have been high or sloshed while on the job, she was allowed to check herself into rehab instead of being sent to prison. Because she is an Important Person, whereas her peers she sentenced to prison are not.<br /><br />In my judgment, having one set of rules for *everyone* (including Only Ones, the very wealthy, and other Important People) would tend to limit at least some of the excesses of the "there oughtta be a law" busybodies.benEzranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-25551985278814623732014-01-04T22:08:24.079-05:002014-01-04T22:08:24.079-05:00So noted and greatly appreciated!So noted and greatly appreciated!Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-54187435528243727072014-01-04T18:04:03.459-05:002014-01-04T18:04:03.459-05:00OK, Enemy.
OK, Enemy. <br />Windy Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01951254236693386401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-18761586106895241662014-01-04T08:10:54.825-05:002014-01-04T08:10:54.825-05:00Poor choice of term, Windy. Care to try that agai...Poor choice of term, Windy. Care to try that again, with "enemy" or "opfor" instead?<br /><br /> (Yeah, I'm soooooo mean and PC. Y'know what? Tough. That kind of talk might fly fine in a war zone but we ain't, and the "gooks" are running the corner store, paying taxes and voting just the same as you. I am <i>g-ddamn</i> good and tired of the lazy habit of constantly sorting us nekkid apes into neat, stupid, handy-to-despise categories.) Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-23712891178061152582014-01-04T02:26:52.423-05:002014-01-04T02:26:52.423-05:00Burning it all down, or hitting reset is just call...Burning it all down, or hitting reset is just calling the artillery on your own position because the gooks are inside the wire. Not a satisfactory strategy if there is ANY other option.<br />Windy Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01951254236693386401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-8894348516835977742014-01-03T13:04:15.024-05:002014-01-03T13:04:15.024-05:00http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connections_(TV_serie...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connections_(TV_series)<br /><br />Ever Since James Burke's 1978 Series, when I found out about the Limelight/Hydrogen/entertainment connection, I've been an Optimist. This other 'Stuff' is just people who want [scorn quotes] "power" thinking they actually have it. Ya Know, our 'betters'. Embedded bureaucrats are/have always been/ will always be a problem. the mind of subversives and Interwebz think that's a failure and creates a work-around. Personally I like the suggestion 2/3 for to pass a law 1/3 against to repeal a law.<br />Rich in NCOpinionated Grump (Rich in NC)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05260811958299261825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-85590852247250353032014-01-03T10:30:01.983-05:002014-01-03T10:30:01.983-05:00Just reading about the device discovered at the bo...Just reading about the device discovered at the bottom of the sea in a greek boat. Very complex piece of equipment. <br /><br />I think we have had running water many times in the past but the powers of darkness always seem to destroy those high points of civilization. <br /><br />I would charge they have no imagination as they cannot see any way forward that does not keep them in power or toilet paper. Since they do not know how toilet paper is made I don't think they understand it will go away when they tear things down.<br /><br />enough babbling, back to the mines.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708868713277676628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-66175254794893827742014-01-03T07:05:47.185-05:002014-01-03T07:05:47.185-05:00Earl, amen!
Joe: The trick is to learn how to cha...Earl, amen!<br /><br />Joe: The <i>trick</i> is to learn how to change your neighbor's mind -- or at least get along with it -- without succumbing to the urge to try sawin' his skull open.Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-14104629415551364192014-01-03T00:44:51.837-05:002014-01-03T00:44:51.837-05:00I just finished watching Crowell, again. Knowing t...I just finished watching Crowell, again. Knowing that the enlightened English did the Civil War, which had followed the War of the Roses, then the Restoration (cause you have to have a King) then the Glorious Revolution, where the Stuarts were tossed because they weren't Royal enough(?) always trying to make a perfect government - then all that practice became a lot of little almost democratic governments, and international trade to empire to capitalism, but with a human face... and on and on. I like technology - but I wish humans would get smarter, and learn to live without deciding that the other guys gone will be so much better - it will always be different but better? We bear our sins into tomorrow, no matter the technology. Some fool is going to say that a computer can do it better - which won't stop humans, either. But we keep trying.<br /><br />I believe in wearing all the parts out, and then figuring a way to do it better. Change is constant, time is going to waste, and yesterday is history, tomorrow is the future. Smile for us now.Earlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14794620086508373660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-70059590683144877822014-01-03T00:31:08.136-05:002014-01-03T00:31:08.136-05:00The problem lies not in Washington, nor in the sys...The problem lies not in Washington, nor in the system, but in the heart of your neighbor who says "there ought to be a law".<br /><br />The trick is trying to get them to change their mind without becoming a worse thing than what you're trying to replace.Joe in PNGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-90875217978979788282014-01-02T23:58:07.444-05:002014-01-02T23:58:07.444-05:00Pendulums swing, that's what they do.
In the r...Pendulums swing, that's what they do.<br />In the recent past, things got bad enough that we got Miranda warnings.<br />Things are getting bad again, we can hope (and work to ensure) that law enforcement gets pulled into line again.<br /><br />We do need to arrest the pendulum's motion before it swings so wide it destroys the good parts of our nation. When trying to change the pendulum's motion, it's important to note that direct action often doesn't work. Larry Niven fans will remember 'East takes you out, out takes you west...port and starboard bring you back". Real life is multi-dimensional.<br /><br />The overall problem of Government having too much power should not be addressed head-on; those with power will see what you are doing and resist, and they likely have the power to resist effectively. Find an attack that works orthogonally and those in power may not see it coming...<br /><br /><br />Samsam von VirginiaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-38785995926495530352014-01-02T23:56:58.617-05:002014-01-02T23:56:58.617-05:00Al--Google doesn't need guns to ruin your life...Al--Google doesn't need guns to ruin your life. And if they want some, they can always call in one sort of cop or another.<br /><br />Which is why, from day one I went online, I didn't fool myself with any expectations of privacy. And for some things, to quote Henry VIII, "if my hat knew what I thought, I would take it off and burn it in the fireplace".<br /><br />KishneviAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-67259481009273009782014-01-02T23:44:14.220-05:002014-01-02T23:44:14.220-05:00@kishnevi
How many divisions does Google have?
Al...@kishnevi<br />How many divisions does Google have?<br /><br />AlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-57078030970240975102014-01-02T23:42:46.927-05:002014-01-02T23:42:46.927-05:00Ah, if only we could accomplish that by voting rea...Ah, if only we could accomplish that by voting really, really hard... I dunno; but I aim to keep voting back at the bastids.Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-59612560082648782842014-01-02T23:29:29.444-05:002014-01-02T23:29:29.444-05:00Burning it to the ground is a bad idea I agree.
B...Burning it to the ground is a bad idea I agree.<br /><br />But can we just reset to factory spec? Or at least reinstall from a few back-ups ago?<br /><br /><br />BGMBGMillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02848795924399360183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-37289483195593261552014-01-02T23:23:54.730-05:002014-01-02T23:23:54.730-05:00Amen to what you said, although personally I more ...Amen to what you said, although personally I more expect a slow decline British style, and in fifty years the generation now being born will wake up and realize that USA is not anywhere near being the greatest country in the world. And some things I'm not as worked about. NSA invaded my privacy? Ah, Google and Yahoo and my ISP have probably been able to do that for years now....<br /><br />And being that I have a chronic disease that's kept sort of under control by a nice bit of modern prescription drugs (alleged official retail: $800 a month. Yeah, prescription patents! Yeah, employee health benefits so I don't actually pay that much!) I doubtless would not survive very long if we went to H. in a handbasket. (H=Houston, of course.) There's plenty of folks that might be sympathetic, but can't afford to let the house burn down over their heads: they wouldn't get out alive.<br /><br />And we may think we're down the sewer, but the same BBC poll that says that most foreigners think the USA is the worst danger to peace in the world is also the same one that say most foreigners would choose the USA as the country to emigrate to, if they were to leave their own country.<br /><br />KishneviAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-28001599573471337602014-01-02T23:20:55.928-05:002014-01-02T23:20:55.928-05:00I think this does have some utility, but only as a...I think this does have some utility, but only as a warning.<br />I don't want to experience it.<br /><br />AlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-59170301854366956502014-01-02T23:20:54.243-05:002014-01-02T23:20:54.243-05:00I'm certainly invested in the idea of keeping ...I'm certainly invested in the idea of keeping infrastructure running - since I kinda need the pharmacy at WallyWorld to stay stocked. <br /><br />If necessary, I'll do what I can, but I'd really rather not burn the whole thing down.Jeffrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06873138122305060834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-46799814699141730882014-01-02T23:11:01.385-05:002014-01-02T23:11:01.385-05:00Hello Roberta X
I think you have hit the problem s...Hello Roberta X<br />I think you have hit the problem square. Don't push the man on the ledge. But be ready to do the things necessary to survive. <br />I like to think I will be one of the guys that you will never see, but every once in a while you will find some venison hanging near your door and wonder if it is me. I do not what the book of Eli, but that might be where we are going. <br />You are smart, you have a plan, you will survive. I am not so smart, my only plan is to get away from the mess as fast and as far as possible. <br />My motto is Run Silent, Run Deep.<br /><br />thanks<br /><br />ds diesel smokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12423006842523412765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-3264661513767413492014-01-02T22:52:02.154-05:002014-01-02T22:52:02.154-05:00Then I may not have explained myself sufficiently ...Then I may not have explained myself sufficiently well. <br /><br /> And so it goes.<br />Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-48265478685814985152014-01-02T22:48:50.397-05:002014-01-02T22:48:50.397-05:00Hmmm...kind of similar(if a little less pointed) t...Hmmm...kind of similar(if a little less pointed) to what Tam posted about the other day.<br /><br />I tend to agree with you...the fact is...there isn't a better system out there! Not to be super-duper patriotic, but there isn't another country I want to live in...right now. <br /><br />I don't think the problem is so much the system, as the fact that people are using the system to tell other people what they can and can't do, as opposed to letting them do it, unless it hurts someone else. greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10282685892329599436noreply@blogger.com