"Je dirais plutôt que la crise trouve son origine dans des crédits un peu trop généreusement accordés. Sur la question des swaps et des dérivés, je conseille très très vivement la lecture d'un papier de Darrell Duffie et Henry Hu : http://ssrn.com/abstract=11408...
Si le sujet vous intéresse vraiment, et pas seulement pour la polémique, cette lecture vaut largement le petit effort qu'elle nécessite." - Rubin Sfadj
"Merci à toi pour ton article et pour ce commentaire ! À partir d'un certain niveau de complexité, les positions des uns et des autres ont en effet tendance à "s'idéologiser" un peu plus que de raison." - Rubin Sfadj
"Si certains libéraux se sont opposés au plan, ce n'est pas pour "voir le monde brûler", mais parce qu'ils estiment que placer un fardeau de 700 milliards de dollars minimum sur le dos des contribuables n'est pas la solution la moins dangereuse à terme. C'est peut-être une forme d'orthodoxie, mais elle n'a rien de cynique, puisque l'objectif à atteindre demeure la bonne tenue de l'économie, et donc des "ménages". Même en considérant que n'on a "plus d'autre choix que d'intervenir", il existe de nombreuses façons de le faire, et toutes n'emportent pas les mêmes conséquences. Et les "ménages" ont eux aussi bénéficié des années de croissance et de crédit "facile". Enfin, je puis te garantir que la nature et l'importance des contraintes qui reposent partout dans le monde ou presque (et spécialement aux Etats-Unis) sur la conduite des activités bancaires et boursières ne peuvent certainement pas être qualifiées de "laissez faire". Les règles étaient peut-être mauvaises ou mal adaptées, mais..." - Rubin Sfadj
"Butler ne parle pas "d'idéalistes cyniques" : il reconnaît deux profils différents parmi les opposants au plan Paulson. Les premiers sont les partisans d'une conduite libérale "orthodoxe", et c'est moi qui les qualifie d'idéalistes, peut-être à tort. Les seconds, analyse-t-il, ont agi par pur calcul démagogique. C'est ce que j'appelle du cynisme. @Lomig : je ne dis pas que les premiers doivent être qualifiés de non modérés, mais je pense en revanche, oui, que de nombreux partisans d'un vote rapide en faveur du plan tenaient cette position dans un souci de modération et de pragmatisme, tout en sachant que ce n'était pas la panacée. @Manuel : Les premiers cités par Butler ne préfèrent pas "voir tout se casser la gueule", mais considèrent (comme d'ailleurs, c'est étrange, une certaine frange des antilibéraux) que l'Etat n'a pas vocation a mutualiser les pertes pour rattraper les erreurs du marché. A mon sens, c'est de l'orthodoxie, pas du cynisme. Merci en tout cas à vous deux pour vos..." - Rubin Sfadj
"Je t'assure que beaucoup, beaucoup de gens l'ont "senti passer", comme tu dis. La SG n'a pas "publié un résultat à la hausse" ; au contraire, la perte générée par "l'affaire" a poussé la banque à organiser une augmentation de capital en catastrophe. A ton avis, c'était pour éviter quoi ?
L'idée selon laquelle "la France n'a pas le même modèle de banques d'affaires" est aussi répandue que fausse. Ce n'est pas parce que nous avons moins de banques d'investissement autonomes que nous n'avons pas le même modèle.
Enfin, certes le crédit est plus répandu aux USA ou en GB qu'en France ; mais notre croissance sur les dix dernières années est tellement faible comparée à celle de ces deux pays que nous subirons la crise sans avoir tiré le même parti de l'embellie qui l'a précédée !" - Rubin Sfadj
"Ah, OK ! Parce que je voyais pas le rapport avec les élections américaines. Mais c'est vrai, tout le monde a pensé aux télé-évangélistes.
Le point commun entre Nicolas Sarkozy et Ségolène Royal, c'est le cynisme." - Rubin Sfadj
Mosaic 2.0 alpha 1. One of the guys on my floor in the dorms immediately pointed it to pr0n. Yes, they had pr0n on the Internet in 1994, and not just on Usenet. - Victor Ganata
for some reason I assumed we meant graphical browser. my first experience on the Internet was through lynx. On Linux. Running on a 486 50 MHz. - Victor Ganata
Well... my first experience of a non-graphical would have to be when I went to work with my dad who was a managing editor for a newspaper, the original news wire internet was my first real experience. - Andrew Dobrow
lynx! and i have a very clear recollection of the first time I saw a graphical browser, Mosaic, IMDB. moving stars on a black background, jaw droppingly amazing. - rudibrarian
First browser = Mosaic via some type of Sun workstation when I was a PhD student in computer science at U of Tennessee. - Mike Reynolds
lynx ...the text-based browser from u of kansas. i guess gopher does not count... - kamla bhatt
ah gopher. nope, it was a different protocol, not http. do gopher servers actually still exist? - Victor Ganata
"De retour de vacances mais encore en pleine réorganisation, je me suis fait un peu violence... Il était temps !
Sans vouloir jouer les naïfs, cette histoire de corruption est proprement hallucinante." - Rubin Sfadj
What Guy's article says is basically, if you turn off every neat feature in the new iPhone, you get the battery life of a regular phone. I honestly don't see the point. - Rubin Sfadj
BTW, how long does it take to charge an iPhone up? A separate battery + battery charger usually saves my [portable] day. Alas, here it wouldn't work. - Lech
yep that is the summary. I'm rather peeved about the battery life, still. I have to charge the iPhone every night or I get an iBrick on my commute home. And this is with about 2 hours of heavy websurfing / crossword puzzle playing / music listening during my commutte. - Jason Kaneshiro
Blugh. If people are willing to flip to republicans just bc Hill's not on teh ticket. they're not progressive anyway. McCain's stance on such things as, say, women's rights, should offend them to the core. - ωαřмaiden
I'm glad he didn't select Hillary. She's too controversial... She would have been a major liability. Obama already has enough liabilities with a large segment of the population who's over the age of 50 and lives in the South. He didn't need that baggage that Hillary would have brought. - Lindsay Donaghe
I see, so if a person is going to fli-flop, fuck 'em. nice. - rambn
via twhirl
Not mine. McCain, er, republican, is worse. It'll take a lot to push me to vote for Barr over Obama. I'll never vote for McCain and will be hard pressed to ever vote republican again unless they reel the party back in. - ·[▪_▪]·
@rambn - no, not 'fuck em," but I'm awed by the number of people who would vote republican tickets because they dislike the dem VP candidate (as in, not Hill). Does policy not override your dislike of an individual? (Genuine question.) it just seems to me - and I don't like either choice, honestly - that there's such severe difference in policy that swapping to another side is counterproductive. - ωαřмaiden
Agreed Neal. Hillary lost all my respect with her campaign tactics. If she had pulled out of the campaign when it was obvious she lost, months ago, I'm certain I would have wanted her as VP. Not now though. I think Biden will just be a better VP anyway. Not the best maybe but x1M better than what we've had the past 8 years. - ·[▪_▪]·
Seriously? After the campaign she ran? What you need in a VP is someone who can muck in and do a bit of mud slinging. But if that was Hilary, and she showed strength and started pushing McCain on the issues, the easy (and effective) counter to that is "So who is in charge?", "Who is the leader". You can't have two dominant personalities on the one ticket without opening yourself up to leadership questions. - John Worthington
Wow - I can't imagine any of Hilary's old supporters voting for McCain. He stands almost diametrically opposed to almost everything she supported... I can understand not being thrilled with Obama, but he's the only horse you've got in this race. - Emotion Tad
If Clinton's supporters are willing to endure 4 years of McCain just in the hope of getting Hillary to run successfully in 2012, then I have no use for them, because as WarMaiden said, they're not progressives anyway. Inflicting McCain on the country intentionally, knowing he'd be a disaster, is unconscionable. - steplow is Steve
I disagree. Mudslinging is exactly what politics shouldn't be. It should be about negotiations and compromise and to do that, you have to be able to retain respect and be respectful. - ·[▪_▪]·
Holy hell, Hillary is the only choice that would have made me think twice about voting for him. - Jason Carreira
Clinton supporters who vote for McCain in protest should begin writing personal apologies to everyone who voted for Nader in 2000. - Chris Baskind
Yeah, if this somehow pushes a "democrat" into voting republican then they weren't much of a democrat to begin with. Hillary was definitely the wrong choice and was never in serious contention for the position. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
news flash, mccain is going to choose hillary, his win guaranteed, hillary's too - Gregory Lent
He won't choose Hillary. But if he did, he'd shatter the GOP. Go for it. - Chris Baskind
The GOP's not already shattered? If McCain doesn't win the current incarnation of the GOP is dead. I'm hoping to have a new party come out of the dust that'll be fiscally conservative and socially liberal, but I know that won't ever happen. - Emotion Tad
Hillary was way too polarizing for Obama to ever take seriously as a candidate for VP. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
I agree Alex. I might have sat out the election if he'd picked her. Choosing the lesser of two evils with a Clinton is always a tricky job. - Emotion Tad
I was nervous that Obama was going to allow himself to be pushed into selecting her out of fear due to the polls. Putting aside, as if I could, her campaign tactics and continual reference to her "opponent" who in their right mind would want a 2x President dropping by in the west wing. - Ruth Ferguson
Tad: I think there are cracks. But, no, I think most of the GOP will fall in line. Their defectors will probably be about the same as those on the other side of the aisle. It will be a very close election. - Chris Baskind
I'd be happier about the state of this country if this election looked more like Ron Paul vs Joe Liberman. - Brian Norwood
Wow, so many assumptions that a Clinton supporter who can't vote for Obama has to be voting for McCain? Are there really only 2 options available? That's rhetorical, but if you were thinking "yes" you're part of the problem. - Scott Bannon
All the dems who are considering voting for mcain because Hillary isn't on the dem ticket - this exactly why the repubs won the last two elections. The dems keep fragmenting their vote. You were pissed when many of us voted for nader, now you're considering doing essentially the same thing. Think! - Jason Kaneshiro
Nah, remember, HALF the country hates Hillary's guts. It's not that she's a woman. . .she's a conniving <bleep>. I miss the McCain of the 90s, when he didn't have the neocons and telecoms telling him what to do. - Peter Ghosh CISSP
@Peter - exactly, I have no problems with a woman as president, just not THAT woman. She ran a terrible campaign - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory - and I lost a lot of respect for both Clintons. - Jason Kaneshiro
@Scott - no, not thinking that those not voting for Bar/Biden are automatically going repub, but many say they are. And not voting or voting 3rd party doesn't help the cause either, other than to fragment the vote. 3rd party candidates are still not viable in the US system, unfortunately, and it's naive to argue that they are. - ωαřмaiden
I'm baffled by the idea of a Clinton supporter flipping and voting for McCain, or, what amounts to almost the same thing, voting for a third-party candidate or sitting out the election. They'd essentially be throwing away their vote out of bitterness. How is that progressive? - Nathan Rein
I think that this selection, though not the best (I was hoping for Kathleen Sabelius as it would get some Hilary voters while not pandering to Hilary) is a good choice. Biden matches McCain in the oldness factor and has more experience than all but four Senators, plus he has the foreign relations experience. - Andrew Fielding
I just shake my head at the Clinton supporters who are flipping their vote. Talk about voting for the complete opposite of what you were once voting for. Make up your minds on what you really want ... more of the same or a chance at a better country not only for yourself, but for your children and grandchildren. - ::Kristen::
After she spent the campaign painting him as a scared little boy too small for the sizable shoes of President, implying that if elected he'd have her and Bill on speed dial, and wouldn't even truly congratulate him in her concession speech, who in the world though he was really going to pick Hillary? Really? I think passing her over was one of the best decisions Obama ever made. - Brian Norwood
very funny, i forwarded this to a friend who works at european commission. she answered to me that her unit was responsible for this spot. so little world ^^ - Baptiste Cadiou
via twhirl
these elements are very hostile to heterosexuality. frankly. - AnotherⓃⓄⒶⒽ
not sure what the tune is, but it sounds really like the collaborations Mark E Smith (from The Fall) did with Coldcut (early cut'n'paste house music pioneers) back in the late 80s ... http://www.mp3sale.ru/track.ph... - Tobias Peggs
“If you really want the government to run all aspects of life, can you please move to one of the pre-existing socialist or fascist countries in existence and stop ruining mine?”
You need to confer with some of your fellow democrats then, please. I had one argue in the comments at Mashable that privatization of *anything* is a disaster, and a National CTO is a great first step to getting the country's tech sector under the thumb of the government. And also that I've never made any sense. He may be right on the second point, but the first really bothers me. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Also, it occurs to me that both republicans and democrats are very guilty lately of taking over our lives, just from different parts of it. Can we just reboot our government? Is that possible? - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
I am not a democrat, but agree that if you want to avoid fascism, best way to go in November is Democrat, and I'll (obviously) be doing so. Although yeah, the national CTO chatter this week was ridiculous... - Anthony Citrano
I'm down for a reboot. Or at least a Defrag and a Fsck - Rahsheen™
I don't see what the issue is with a national CTO. Why *wouldn't* you want someone in an administration who helps it make more informed policy decisions? Would you rather have a government make decisions that affect the technology sector with nothing? Not everything has to be a slippery slope to fascism. - Mark Trapp
Heh, well some people are going to be more socialist than I am. I think that deregulation has it's pros and cons. Particularly if done poorly (see how California deregulated power in the 90s as a poor way to do it). Some people will never like big corporations and some people will never get how the government can effectively regulate industries. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
Many European countries have had the equivalent of a "national CTO" for many years. It hasn't helped Europe in the worldwide innovation race. Pretty much the opposite. - Rubin Sfadj
I'd say that the government's job is to regulate large corporations to prevent Enrons and the current housing crisis as much as possible. But of course the regulations have to be smartly written and serve purpose and the regulators also have to have the tools/personnel required to enforce them. When you don't have both of those things regulation is ineffective or can actually make things worse. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
Rubin: that's totally because the CTO is hampering innovation, and definitely not because Europe has never really been that strong in that sector, has other high-tech unfriendly labor laws that were enacted long before the idea of a CTO, and generally doesn't have the same level of infrastructure as the United States, right? - Mark Trapp
Democrats are all about more government. I guess some people would be happy if they gave their whole paycheck to the government and let it spend the money for them. The perfect Democratic government would be where the government ran everything and ran it poorly. - Michael Tefft
to be fair, if you look globally you'll find in Western countries that it's the right that preaches small government but actually is worst at delivering it. The left may embrace a more open social agenda, but they tend to have the sense of not allowing it to get as out of hand as the right does. - Duncan Riley
Michael: which is why the government has increased its spending and infrastructure more than any other time in the Reagan and Bush administrations? How does that make sense? The Bush administration spends more per year than any other administration in the country's history. - Mark Trapp
Michael: but that's not relevant to the argument you made. Your claim that Democrats would love nothing more than to take your whole paycheck isn't based on a statement of fact. In reality, the Republicans are worse at it than Democrats. Talking about unemployment rates is just an inane diversion from the point you're attempting to make. - Mark Trapp
Rebooting the government won't work. The software's been replaced many times to no avail. The legacy hardware is clearly at fault. - abacab
You made my point for me Alex. I wasn't talking about Democracy, I was talking about a country in which the Democrats had their way in everything. Take from the rich and the middle class, give to the poor until everyone is equal, i.e. Communism. - Michael Tefft
Two things @Michael: 1. Perhaps the incidence of cancer is higher, too. Does that a connection make? Plus - here you are arguing for smaller government, then implying it is city officials' responsibility to ensure the employment of the citizenry? 2. Traditional Republicanism advocated for small government. I hope you're not asserting that Bush 2, nor the freshly-hijacked Republican party has done so. - Anthony Citrano
Anthoney.It should be city officials responsible for ensuring the welfare of its people, not the federal government. That is my point. You want the federal government to be responsible for everything. The federal government can't run everything and should not even try. What do you think local and state governments are for? - Michael Tefft
Mark, It is relevant. The point is whether at city or federal levels Democratic policies don't work. - Michael Tefft
Sorry I misspelled your name Anthony. - Michael Tefft
Actually Communism is where the government takes from everyone and creates a ruling class (because you have to have that) and of course they live great, while everyone else waits in line for toilet paper. Our country's tax system was based on the fact that the more you make the more you pay as being fair. And this is fair because the more you make, the more you can afford to pay in taxes. And yes, some of this money goes back to the poor, but it is to create a safety net for everyone... - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
@Michael: I do? You know what I think about federalism, states rights and so on? How? Before you presume to know what someone thinks, you ought at least make an effort to know who they are, for Christ's sake. I *was* a government CTO, perhaps even the first (although I am not sure.) I don't need to be lectured about the different levels of government, especially from someone intent on painting the world thusly. The patronizing comments from some of you are a little hard to take. - Anthony Citrano
To keep corporations in check. To protect us against invaders. To control crime and build up/maintain infrastructure vital to the nation's security and economy. To regulate industry as required. To keep us safe in times of disasters both large and small. And to give everyone an equal opportunity at succeeding in life. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
Yeah, I don't know how I feel about the whole CTO thing. For one thing, government bureaucracies tend to slow everything down, and technology has really thrived without a lot of that oversight and regulation over the past 40 years or so. I can see technological progress slowing down with a CTO. On the other hand, there are some reckless and ruthless corporations and other entities out there that would certainly play nicer if we had someone enforcing tight standards and watching out for us, the little guy - Pete Delucchi
Well said Alex, but I think that some Democratic tax policies are unfair in this regard. They take more than their fair share from the rich and the middle class. That is one of the differences between Republican and Democratic tax policies. - Michael Tefft
@Mark: I'd say that's because of the flawed view that the government's job amounts to more than setting the right environment when it comes to innovation. Collectivism at its best/worst. - Rubin Sfadj
less of a tax rate results in more taxes being paid though by the higher income earners - Jeff Quinton
Anthony, the first version of your comment addressed "Mark," so I figured you were talking about Mark Hopkins. I wasn't addressing you with my original comment: I was addressing Mark Hopkins. I don't think it's a slippery slope towards fascism or socialism just to have someone in an administration who helps shape policy regarding different labor areas, and considering the rational difficulties of a slippery slope argument, I'm quite taken back that one would use it. - Mark Trapp
Michael- You obviously did not look at the data on Obama's tax policy vs McCain's then. Obama would give the largest tax reductions across the board, except to the wealthiest of Americans, which can afford to pay the most in taxes. He's keeping capital gains below the historic low (not counting the huge reduction that GW put in place "temporarily") which provides incentive for investment. His tax policy is more progressive and therefore more fair to the average american. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
@Mark Trapp - that's why I put in your last name... sorry, I'm cranky and sunburned. - Anthony Citrano
Sorry that the rich have to pay more, but that's the cost they have to bear for the privilege (and yes it's a privilege and not a right to be rich) of being rich. Sucks to be them. I won't be crying for Donald Trump, Simon Cowell, or even my brother. As my dad likes to say "I'd love to pay more taxes, because it means that I'm making more money." - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
"Our true choice is not between tax reduction, on the one hand, and the avoidance of large Federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits… In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now - Jeff Quinton
Silly people that buy into Republican talking points of the last 30 years without bothering to check any facts. I really loved the unemployment quote. If Republicans ran those cities they would be proud of the incredibly higher unemployment rates they would intentionally cause and the atrocious manner in which those governments were run. Republicans are incompetent at running anything well and that includes corporations, government, the Republican party(ie embezzlement) and their personal lives. - Brad Nickel
Brad - painting the Rs with such a broad brush is no better than when they do the same to Ds. How, exactly, does that kind of tripe advance our discourse or our national condition? - Anthony Citrano
Actually, as the WaPo graph shows, Obama is raising taxes for some, whereas McCain is lowering them for everyone. Back to the topic at hand, though, I'm curious as to why socialized <insert industry here> doesn't equate to socialism for Democrats. I hear socialized medicine, socialized insurance, socialized retirement investing ..... all I think is that we're on a long slow march to socialism. Enlighten me. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Anthony, there is nothing generalized about it is their governing philosophy. Why would you bother to run government well when you don't want government to survive. Their party is a financial mess. I guess I have to take back the corporate comment, when their corporations are feeding at the trough of government spending they created for them with misleading evidence about wars, so that one I am wrong about. Besides that, I stand by the point. - Brad Nickel
Call it socialized, socialist or communist, I am damn ready for socialized medicine and so is a majority of this country. The only competent form of medicine in this country is medicare. It is efficient and well run. Privatized medicine is a complete f'ing mess. So, bring it on with whatever label you like. - Brad Nickel
Go ahead and stand there, then, and point fingers and claim those with differing viewpoints "are incompetent at running anything". That'll surely fuel progress. - Anthony Citrano
I'm definitely not ready for socialized, socialist or communist anything. I can tell you from first hand experience that medicare is a much bigger mess than any private insurer. I've had both, and medicare is a much worse mess. DO NOT WANT. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Anthony, I don't expect Republicans to ever be competent at government or compassion. I do expect them to be good at misleading, stealing from government, distorting the message, attacking, harming people, corruption, and hypocrisy. When they stop that, they've become Democrats. What progress can I expect from a party that cuts funding for our veterans and soldiers protection while their corporations reap billions from the same war. Republican and progress do not belong in the same sentence. - Brad Nickel
They've proven their incompetence, I don't have to point it out. Its why a majority of Americans think George Bush is one of the worst presidents ever. - Brad Nickel
Anthony, there is truth to discourse that is reasonable having value. But, I've been watching Joe Biden videos all day and the man speaks truth to bullshit. While I am fired up he is our VP nominee, I am more outraged now than ever about what has been done to our country, our freedom, our reputation, our soldiers, and our people by the Republican party in the name of greed and power. I am sick to my stomach at what we have done to the world and how much opportunity we have lost. - Brad Nickel
So *everyone* in the Republican party is just some sort of evil monster that only diminishes freedom and the reputation of the country... that's what you're saying? The whole party? You realize you're indicting over half the country there? Do you realize how unreasonable you sound? - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Well, those that still proudly wave the banner of the party after the last 8 years have serious issues to consider. So called moderates that have chosen not to fight back are as guilty as those that support the party as it is. When I speak about the Republican party, I am speaking to what it is and has done as a party. If you support the party of today, then I guess you are indicted or will be shortly at the rate they are going. I will always fight that in my party and will stand with Rs that do in theirs. - Brad Nickel
Actually Rizzn it's only a bit under a third of the voting public, so perhaps a quarter of the country or so. *But* the issue overlooked here (again) is that the Republican party in its current form has been hijacked. Traditional small-government R philosophy is long gone. Most of my smart Republican friends are infuriated that their party was stolen by a few dozen neocons. It is likely dead. The party influencers are to blame for allowing this to happen. - Anthony Citrano
@Brad: I've been following Biden for decades and you're right he's a truthful guy. He is also exceedingly fucking smart and "gets" geopolitics like few others. But since you see things so black and white, I'm surprised you haven't written him off because of his 2002 authorization and support of the Iraq invasion and war. - Anthony Citrano
Anthony, I am never black and white. I always believe people can redeem themselves. So far I haven't seen much of that in the Republican party. I am waiting though. Chuck Hagel is making a good run at it, so far. It won't change how I feel in general about the philosophy of the Republican party and government that has been core for much longer than 8 years, but at least makes them tolerable. - Brad Nickel
"The party influencers are to blame for allowing this to happen." Its worse than the demise of the party. Those are the people that allowed the party to get away from civil liberties and be run by the religious right. They have to take responsibility for not only ruining that party, but doing great harm to the country. So far I haven't heard you reply to the core point I am making about who has been in charge and what they have done to us and that party. Your smart R friends were cowards. - Brad Nickel
Honestly I worry less about the religious right and more about the neocons, although they've merged frighteningly well over the past half-decade. Brad - which "core point?" I just hear rambling anger. And now you start calling my friends names? Jesus Christ, might you consider stopping with the personal attacks and vitriole? Have you any idea how badly this distracts from constructive debate? Do you realize this is a large part of what's broken in American politics? - Anthony Citrano
Unfortunately, constructive debate left us with the lies of "compassionate conservatism". Its nice to think that we could all have a pleasant intellectual discussion about big government vs. little, but the Republican party had their chance and they blew it. Those that let this happen to our country are cowards in both parties and those that "let" the neocons and religious right take over their party gave up all rights to being treated with civility. A lot of "smart" Rs sat back and watched this happen. - Brad Nickel
Tell the screwed over victims of Katrina, the innocents in Iraq, and our soldiers returning home missing limbs for a war of lies and with a decimated VA unable to help them that we need to have a civil discussion. Tell the innocents that were imprisoned and tortured and the families of Americans tortured and murdered in retaliation that we need a constructive debate. - Brad Nickel
You know what Anthony, you are right. My anger is going to get us nowhere. I just rocked my 2 year old back to sleep and had the time to think about what you are saying. So, my apologies to you and your friends if I've been offensive and for the personal attacks. After 43 years on this planet, I've seen R's in power consistently since the 70s disregard people, liberty and our constitution. My anger cannot be justified, but my son is going to have to clean up this mess and I don't know why. - Brad Nickel
Understood. And on the anger and name-calling, glad to hear it. But since nature abhors a vacuum, it seems like Alex Scoble will be stepping it up in your stead. ;) Look, you're right, but you act like one side is to blame. The Ds are just as much to blame. To take one tiny example, they basically ran (and won) in the mid-term Congressional elections on two issues: getting us out of Iraq and holding the WH accountable for their crimes. They have done neither. - Anthony Citrano
Anthony, sorry to dredge this up again, but I definitely agree that there are serious "problems" in the Democratic party, but I am doing what I can whenever I can to root them out and will continue to do so in order to protect what I believe are important values. One point of contention I have with your last post though, is the idea that the Dems have had the type of majority they needed to accomplish those election campaign promises. We knew full well that plenty of conservative Dems would not be on board. - Brad Nickel
I think we've long forgotten what the word conservative means. If they were truly conservative, they'd be the first aboard. But (for example), in the Senate there are a lot of things they can do without 60 votes and they have opted not to. The same is true in the Congress. It ain't just about vote-counting. It's about re-election, again and again. - Anthony Citrano
me too - i'm starting to like the new format a lot - more people are posting content, more people are commenting, and the filtering allows me to digest more information from friends than i could in the past - it's getting more and more interesting jumping over there during the day - Kevin
Same here. Allowing comments on the Status updates is the catalyst for me. - Mike Doeff
Facebook is the true social network...it looks clean, works seamlessly and more people are joining in. It's my hub. - Miguel Albano
Using it, well no but certainly sharing more to it. I have been adding any photographers I can find on FB but that's it atm - Kol Tregaskes
my 2 aunts who are like 60+ years old are on FB. I just closed my account after finding out. - Mark L
via twhirl
Yes. Seems to be more actual communication, less game-playing and showing off. - Timothy B. Taylor
I've never stopped, love FB. Have definitely noticed a downturn in the annoying apps spam though which I appreciate. - Kate
Nope. Not into limiting myself to intranets. I really don't get it.! - Steve 'Chippy' Paine
Nope...I was huge into playing a lot of the racing games for six months, but got bored with that, so now I'm using Facebook rarely. Doing a lot more friendfeed. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
Nope. The death of Scrabulous has confused my less techie relatives, who dislike the Scrabble alternative, so games have dried up. - Louis Gray
mainly use its as an 'outpost' (great term of Chris Brogan); as a content aggregator. Indeed, the new user interface is much more agreable! - Jeroen De Miranda
After a long lull, I am suddenly getting a hell of alot of emails from FB requests and notifications, forcing me to use it more. More than autofeeding is more. - Michael W. May
via twhirl
Less for me though. I'm just there to play games with friends. - Carolyn
we can check out at FB Steve, but tell us how in a blog post - we're still following you. ;) - Kevin OKeefe
Yes, the new design makes it much easier - you should give it a try if you haven't already. The filtering is much better than FriendFeed's, but it's more about people and not news - Jesse Stay
i stiilllllll cannot go there, have an account, that's it ... something doesn't feel right, like it is a front for something shady, not literally, metaphorically - Gregory Lent
I just joined this week. Late to that arena. Turns out that a lot more of the folks that I have made friends with in my travels over the past 18yrs can be found there. - Mathew A. Koeneker
Love the new design. Always been a big user of it though. It's my main social portal. - Rob Record
yes, although I am resisting, I'm finding myself checking it again - Ivan Pope
via twhirl
I got dragged in to play scrabble.. thats the only reason that I am there - Peter Dawson
My facebook use has become somewhat sporadic. I prefer Friendfeed for now. - Mattb4rd
agreed, except my 1400 facebook inmails late and their inmails management that still sux so bad don t you think Steve? - Loic Le Meur
I just realized that a bunch of my friends used it so I am trying to friend them - Chacha
I am using it less than ever since becoming a friendfeed fanatic. I might play a game or two on there once in awhile, but I can't get any real networking done there. - Laura Norvig
Well it's great to see some support for the site...it's been nothing but negative talk for a while now, which frankly I don't understand. - Zee from WeDoCreative
FB is great for storing stuff and for keeping in touch with friends who only use facebook, as well as with friends who network over a wider range of platforms. The games are a distraction. I have found a surprising, diverse number of old and new friends are using facebook. - Chris Loft
Yeah ever since I joined Twitter and Friend Feed I haven't really been on facebook. - Sheraz Mahmood
via twhirl
I'm finding the same thing ... seems my real-world friends have woken up to and have pulled me back it. It's great to actually connect with people there - something I honestly was not doing at all for a very long time. - Jonathan Greene
