Good luck undoing this awful proposition, California. - Chris Baskind
Thanks, Chris. :) Sidenote: Is it just me or is it bizarre how everyone discusses it but when there's action called for, no one says anything. I'm not asking to spam the Internet, but all those passionate voices during the election? Where are they now? - Mona N.
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Mona, my only concern with signing such a petition is that I don't live in Cali. With all the uproar about out-of-state entities being involved in getting it passed (which I agree was inappropriate), I didn't figure out-of-state entities would be appropriate for trying to get it repealed.... - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
Tina: I hear you and see where you're coming from, but since us Internetters are from all over the US - well world, it wouldn't hurt for another voice to spread the word. You never know who you may reach. :) - Mona N.
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Thanks for the link, Shawn. Maybe if I included a picture of bacon, LOLcat, or an iPhone, this petition would've gotten more attention. - Mona N.
People don't want serious... they want fun. Put the URL on your cleave and start a picture meme and people will pay attention. - Cyndy
I hope an ass shot will suffice, since I have no boob-age, only a butt. Mo? Far? Can you guys put up boob shots? - Mona N.
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I have a TON of cleave, but need to dig out a push-up bra. - Cyndy
What, hidden underneath the flaming red soccer balls on your sleeve? Just have Jason push it up. Like Janet Jackson from that one album cover. - Mona N.
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Does my signature count if I'm not a Cali resident? - Hao Chen
That's what's up you guys! People worldwide can participate too... It's just collection of signatures to garner attention. :) - Mona N.
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Signed and passed along to others who will gladly sign. - Abby Martin
Nice you guys. I kept my mouth shut through the voting process, as well as all the rallies. But this petition is an actual tangible that will eventually lead to something. :) - Mona N.
Technically, online petitions are not valid. You need old fashioned pen & paper..a printable form asking full name & street address. Post that online and get people in CA to print & collect signatures. Then you need to bomb the right people with the paper sheets by snail mail. Do your homework. I have done stuff like this before. Get as many politicians as you can to physically sign it and get photos of them doing it. Then publish the photos & story. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Good luck! - April Russo
The technical petition, yes. But this petition is to round up numbers and bring attention to the issue. The organization is planning to take the collective signatures and bring it to the media. The organizers are bloggers and IT people who will DO something. Read about them here http://www.couragecampaign.org... - Mona N.
Wow. That's sad the students in her school are such jerks. Who'd actually say stuff like that to a person? What the hell are their parents teaching them? - Anika Malone
Its a middle school, a vast majority of them are full of angry jerks who just follow the popular kids blindly. - Amber aka SDA
What a brave young lady - and it seems like she's got quite a future if she decided to become a sociologist. But it was a bit frightening to hear that she received death threats for wearing that McCain shirt. Too much. - Melissa
Exactly: just the opposite happened here in my daughter's middle school and even my other daughter's elementary school. Not quite so harsh and personal: mostly aimed at Obama rather than at my kids, but still. - steplow = Steve Lowe
We should all try and recall what sort of a-holes we were at 13-14. I think this is an interesting article, and hopefully the exposition at the end gave the kids something to think about, but reading too much into the mental processes of 13 year olds doesn't get you far... - सत्याग्रह [Bren]
Anika I had the exact opposite reaction; this is exactly microcosm of real life, even here on FF. The "party of tolerance" screamed ageist remarks at McCain, and referred to Palin in many derogatory ways, as well. - Mark VandenBerg
While some conservatives will admit they are intolerant of certain groups. Democrats NEVER admit just how intolerant they really are. The biggest speech codes and thought oppression does not come from the right, it comes from the left. I admit, it hasn't always been that way, but it is today. The only reason Norm Coleman isn't a Democrat today is because he was run out of the party because he believed abortion was wrong. - Steve Olson
Mark, that microcosm doesn't really have to do with left and right wing, though. That microcosm is about who is the majority vs who is the minority. On FF, the left leaners are the majority. In my town, for example, the right leaners are the majority. In that situation the "party of individual rights" has called me a non-thinking Obama-maniac who's just going along 'because it's cool'. The majority will almost always take advantage of a position of power to deride the minority. It's human nature =/ - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
I'm not saying the Rs don't run out pro-choice candidates, they do. They just don't do it while claiming to be tolerant of diversity. - Steve Olson
@Stupid Blogger, scapegoating people with a minority opinion is hardly tolerant... regardless. - Steve Olson
What? The party of Hope 'N Change ain't tolerant? - Trevor Carpenter
Tina: A very keen observation. And I didn't mean to sound like this is related to one wing/party or another. Mr. Olson brings up an interesting point about the 'Right' being exclusionary but somewhat honest about it, but it would be tough to prove empirically. - Mark VandenBerg
@Stupid Blogger, a second thought, are you saying it is human nature to scapegoat people in the minority? If so, shouldn't we protect the minority from the majority, even when we disagree with them? - Steve Olson
@ Steve: "The biggest speech codes and thought oppression does not come from the right, it comes from the left." Can you elucidate? - Marko Bon
Steve, That's exactly what I'm saying: tolerance is *not* human nature. It's a VERY HARD THING to do and do consistently. But, is the fact that I am not perfect at something supposed to mean that I'm not supposed to hold it as a value, as a goal to work towards? And yes, the theory in the US is majority rules, but to protect the minority while doing so. Unfortunately, this goal is imperfectly implemented by BOTH sides of the aisle. However, many would argue that the 'intolerance' might be better measured by how many minority groups your particular majority manages to disenfranchise. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
@Tina, I'm not big on either party right now... and I agree with you. Very intelligent reply to a difficult issue. - Steve Olson
@Marko, Too complex for these short comments. Maybe someday on my blog. Probably not though. I will give you an anecdote in my next comment. - Steve Olson
@Marko, In a college English class during the 90s, the prof gave me a list of words that would be considered grammatical errors eg bellboy, fireman. I wrote my next paper using every one of them and it was returned without a grade. - Steve Olson
@ Steve, I'm willing to admit that during college I found myself virulently disliking the Left. Couldn't stand em. Didn't major in Semiotics because the kids taking the courses drove me batty. With professors like the one you describe. I too got a bad grade on a paper for a similar reason as yours. In the broader world I find little support for your statement. However can agree that Lefty kids can be a real nasty lot, whose statements are supported by 26 yr. old teachers who should know better. - Marko Bon
Very smart experiment. I actually thought about doing something similar which involved wearing a McCain pin in a mostly Obama-supporting area, but changed my mind after hearing some people's opinions about both candidates. - possible248
don't feel bad Marko Bon. Roland Barthes lived with his mother and got hit by a truck. Semiotics are for woosies... but don't talk back to me. people on friendfeed are listening with the hive think - ⓃⓄⒶⒽ ⒹⒶⓋⒾⒹ ⓈⒾⓂⓄⓃ
For all but the most basic sharing and collaboration on documents, spreadsheets and presentations, Microsoft Office and OpenOffice just don't cut it. - Andrew Perry
Unless you're doing some pretty fancy stuff OO will definitely get you by. - Victor Ganata
"The Hollywood Reporter claims that Scott plans to give the film “a futuristic sheen along the lines of his iconic Blade Runner,”" Uh, what? - MG Siegler
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I can think of a few interesting twists and treatments for this... but I imagine whatever gets made will still likely suck. - abacab
Scott moves from genre to genre never repeating a himself. He might be running out of genre's and idea's. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. - Michael Fidler
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I can tell you exactly how it will turn out. It will be 5 hours long, no one wins, and everyone says "FUCK THIS GAME" - Lindsey
hmmm -- "a futuristic sheen along the lines of Blade Runner" makes me picture some shady real-estate broker shooting a big hole in the banker's head with a pulse weapon of some kind - mathew ingram
I saw the headline and started envisioning scenes with Old Monopoly dude bursting out of somebody's chest - Imabug
perspective is everything.. here's another one: all writings to the west of jerusalem go left-->right; whereas writings to the east go right <--left (all written word points to jerusalem?) - a friend told me that...weird! - Susan Beebe
That doesn't apply to Arabic in North Africa though ;) But otherwise makes sense.. - embee
I was always trying to figure out if read/write direction had anything to do with the north/south hemisphere thing. But then I got in trouble for putting books in the toilet. - Ⓒⓗⓡⓘⓢ ᴷᴵᴹ ᴬ
It is actually a no-brainer. The whole terminology has been started by European colonials. If you are in europe, it makes perfect sense, US is west, UAE is middle-east, Indian subcontinent is south-east , Japan is far-east. - Varun Mahajan
I am surprised it bugged xkcd. The world was not always US-centric. As Varun suggested, the terminology is a legacy from the era when it was Euro-centric. - Vinay | विनय
And the irony is we indians(me and Vinay) are explaining..lol - Varun Mahajan
Varun is right. It's also why the America's got the "new world" tag because it simply wasn't on the radar at the time - Duncan Riley
"The Republican Congress never once stood up against the Bush/Rove machine that demanded support for unconstitutional wars, attacks on civil liberties here at home, and an economic policy based on more spending, more debt, and more inflation -- while constantly preaching the flawed doctrine that deficits don't matter as long as taxes aren't raised.
But what the Republican leadership didn't realize was that ALL spending is a tax on middle-class Americans through price inflation and that eventually the inevitable consequence is paying for the extravagance with a financial crisis." - Sean McBride
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And most people who currently call themselves Republicans and conservatives still have not the slightest idea of what Ron Paul is talking about here. Neoconservatives and religious fundamentalists are on a different track entirely -- a messianic track which has absolutely nothing to do with rational discourse and analysis. - Sean McBride
Must catch it now! Thanks for the heads up! (So glad MSNBC has re-signed him!) - Abby Martin
also on iTunes. video version at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObj... - the weird thing is that the show listed in the store runs behind what's available if you subscribe to the podcast. if you subscribe, it downloads tonight's show. - Karim
If it's defined both ways in the dictionary either way isn't wrong. It's part of the common vernacular now. - Alex Scoble CISSP
Yeah...bi-monthly is not *supposed* to be twice a month to my knowledge - ♫ Rahsheen™
oops, yeah, better to avoid it and use the full phrases, or use semi-monthly for twice monthly - Logical Extremes
Hah! The definition 2 of "bimonthly" says: Twice a month, as in "A
semimonthly publication" - ♫ Rahsheen™
It DOES NOT!!! Semimonthly means twice monthly! ARGH!!!!! - Ladybug Heather
Not supposed to or supposed to...doesn't matter...it DOES: http://dictionary.reference.co... By the way, most company HR departments that pay employees on a bimonthly basis call it bimonthly. - Alex Scoble CISSP
When I ran for co-editor of my college newspaper, we wanted to increase the paper's quality by moving from a weekly to biweekly publication. Some wondered how more FREQUENT publication could increase quality. We lost the election on semantics. - Ontario Emperor
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I feel for the two foreign exchange students we have this year. I would hate to learn English (American really) as a second language. - Nate Pilling
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Whenever I've gotten paid twice a month, I was told (correctly) that I get paid biweekly. - Anika Malone
Nate, it's especially tough when the exchange students are European. When they go home, they have to un-learn the American that they learned. - Ontario Emperor
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Ok, who gave Alex his 'pedant's elixir' today? :) - WorldofHiglet
Hey, I'm not the pedant in this. :) I'm Mr. Practicality. :) - Alex Scoble CISSP
hehe - fortnight is a word I don't use here in Canada - causes all sorts of confusion but it means literally fourteen nights i.e. 2 weeks. Not bi-monthly, which, as we all know, is NOT the same thing..... - WorldofHiglet
Yes, because some months (if you get paid every other Friday, for instance) you'll get paid 3 times with a biweekly payment scheme. I prefer bimonthly :) because it's more predictable for paying bills. - Alex Scoble CISSP
I know it's a word, but no one uses it any more, hence my use of 'egads'. - Anika Malone
Yep, biweekly is a word I've never heard, every 2 weeks is fortnightly. Twice a month would never be used as the range is variable (28-31) and therefore not a good reference for time. See, this is exactly why Americans shouldn't meddle with English, we already thought of everything for you ;) - Cains
In the medical field, we learned that Latin and Greek numeric prefixes were actually killing people, so the Joint Commission made us stop using most of them. :) - Victor Ganata
Au contraire - lots of people in England use it. Egads, not so much. :) - WorldofHiglet
Alex, you'd really rather get paid every other month? - Glen Campbell
Crazy English acting like they created the lang...oh. Nevermind. - Anika Malone
Heh, but some health insurance companies actually limit how often you can charge for certain services within a 14 day interval, regardless of how many days there are in a particular month. - Victor Ganata
Naw, I wouldn't edit Wikipedia to win an argument...that's against the rules of Wikipedia. - Alex Scoble CISSP
Besides...how did two weeks get into this thread? It's about the confusion of bimonthly meaning two almost contradictory things at the same time...and that sometimes I revel in such confusion. Plus it's fun to see people arguing against the dictionary. - Alex Scoble CISSP
I'm pretty sure I have an Oxford Dictionary that only gives 1 definition of bimonthly and that is every 2 months but I fear it is in a packing box in the garage. But on The Simpsons the 'Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con' was every 2 months and I think that is all we need to know to settle the argument. - WorldofHiglet
I generally consider bi-monthly to be every two months and twice-monthly to be twice a month. - xero
“Appalled at people rooting for political parties as if they were football teams. Football teams do not have the ability to seriously fuck up your livelihood.”
hahaha...Caroline keep looking at the pic .. you'll get it. - jlt
no. cuz i don't think like you guys....is the truck suppose to be like his penis or something... - Caroline
caroline, it's basically him playing with a miniature version of himself.... because you know, transformers change from vehicle to upright machines. - Zee from WeDoCreative
caroline the robot is the transformer optimus prime - he goes from a big rig to the robot, and he's playing with the toy optimus prime when it is transformed in the truck form. - Morgan
"At a moment of obvious peril, America decided to place its fate in the hands of a man who had been born to an idealistic white teenage mother and the charismatic African grad student who abandoned them — a man who grew up without money, talked his way into good schools, worked his way up through the pitiless world of Chicago politics to the U.S. Senate and now the White House in a stunningly short period. That achievement, compared with those of the Bushes or the Kennedys or the Roosevelts or the Adamses or any of the other American princes who were born into power or bred to it, represents such a radical departure from the norm that it finally brings meaning to the promise taught from kindergarten: "Anyone can grow up to be President."" - MLx
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