DISQUS

The majority apparently was concerned with a bunch of stick-in-the-mud old fogey homeowners holding up COMMUNITY development/improvements. I say chase them out of their cruddy abodes with a blowtorch if necessary. How can someone with blog named 'Technology Liberation Front' be so in favor of blocking progress. Or are your views so narrow that only private interests can promote "progress" and government never should? But then you argue that special interests will rule the roost by exerting control over government to do its bidding. Since when don't you like that? In another comment you argue in favor of a monopolistic company like Microsoft over free and fair competitions. Your arguments are so full of paradoxes and contradictions and personal attacks on the jurists involved in the decisions that you make little sense. I don't blame you for quoting Justice O'Connor; I doubt you've ever had an original thought in your entire life.

That was funny, Rob!

I believe that infants should be taken away from their parents at birth to be raised by the bears or wolves in the forest. So what, I say, if the bears & wolves eat most of the babies. Humans reproduces WAY too much and there are an indecent number of us being toilet trained here on poor, 4.5 billion year old, planet earth. Also, abortions would happily decrease because you can feed, er I mean throw your baby to the wolves instead of aborting it. The plentiful new supply of food would result in a surge in the bear & wolf populations which would go a long way in making up for our ruthless extermination of those regal animals to make room for more toilet trained(?), rapatious humans like Micha. That the libertarian social model should fail to take into account feral children is a ghastly if not beastly thought!

Eugenics anyone? We do it to dogs. My collie didn't arrive on Noah's arc, I'm afraid. She came out of intelligent design. (This is barnyard science at its best.) That's right, intelligent HUMAN design. Why or why can't we apply eugenics to ourselves. I know, the Nazis gave it a bad rap. But, do we have to remain a species that is for the most part is still brutish and ignorant when we can easily do something about it? I blame pseudo-moralistic, religious idiots for that, among others. Now that I'm through ranting for the moment, you can go back to sleep. Sorry to disturb ya'll, except for you Micha. For you, it's the DRAFT!!

Micha, I have one word for you! DRAFT!!

I have no problem whatsoever with creationism being taught side-by-side with evolution, so long as it is pointed out why creationism is wrong and why evolution is right. I don't even mind the bible being taught to 1st graders so long as the wisdom of the bible is taught and that the hooey God crap has no basis in fact. I say teach the bible to our impressionable kids. Teach them that it says that we must stone a woman to death for adultery but then point out that civilized people don't do that anymore because it is barbaric. Explain to them that now it is the husband that kills his wife who is put on trial for murder whether or not it is established that she screwed every guy in town. Then explain the OJ trial to them and how money talks and shit walks. Have a nice lesson on American jurisprudence and justice. Then have a dandy koolaid and chocolate chip cookie break. Don't you just love kids with their red or blue koolaid stained smiles! (Red for the red states and blue for the blue ones, naturally.)

Poppycock! It feels good to say that. I'll have to say it more often. Allow me to enumerate a few of the ways:

1. The assumption that kids are best raised by their parents. I had to spend 10 years in psychotherapy to undo the head trips that my sorry folks did on me. I believe all decent schools should be in the business of teaching kids how to think and fend for themselves in a rough world. If people know how to think clearly then chances are they be able to distinguish fact from fantasy. I have no problem teaching kids that killing is usually wrong and that a cow was killed to make a McDonald's burger. It's the truth. Kid need to be taught sympathy and empathy. There are far too many cruel kids who grow up to be cruel and uncaring adults, politicians and business men and women.

2. We all have "false" gods that we follow. For example, the false god of materialism. Witness the mad post-Thanksgiving rush to buy all kinds of consumer goods, much of it manufactured in China and most of it crap. What kind of religion is that to prop up a communist dictatorship by buying their toasters? Scientific theories are beautiful things but don't shove YOUR science and how it should be applied down my throat. I don't want my water fluoridated if you get my drift. I don't want my stupid dentist telling me that a dental x-ray is like spending a minute catching some rays at the beach. I want my fruit and veggies free from some Monsato's latest and most profitable pesticide like DDT.

4. I don't want SOCIAL Darwinists to tell me that sweatshops and child labor is a better than a life of prostitution. BOTH are bad and wrong. And, that if a little girl's hand gets cut off then it is okay to shove her out the door without medical treatment or pay because she is no longer productive. All kids have a right to an education and freedom from from hunger.

5. I secretly want to emulate my idol the Unibomber. His anti-technology manifesto should be taught in kindergarten. A lot of good he is doing the world behind bars when he could be outside sending a bunch of ticking Christmas gifts to the smug folks in ivory towers and to the rest of the greedy turds in America who are living off the "fat of the land," as Will Robinson ...er Will Wilkinson says. If they have nothing to fear then won't they fear nothing?

What is your problem, Chuck? A man from Oklahoma, who believes in executing "abortionists", was just elected to the Senate of the U.S.. Are you blind to the ongoing war, IN THIS COUNTRY, between modern, scientific, civilized humanistic thought and religious fanaticism and barbarism. And, have you so easily forgotten the bombings of Women's health clinics and killings of doctors by homicidal Christian loonies. Don't you realize that religious intolerance is the historical trademark of Christianity and Islam? Bush's election ploy to push for altering the Constitution to make bigotry the law of the land doesn't bother you.? Chuck, take back your blatant slander of Nicholas; it's just not right!

I should say that people who are religious are foolish in that aspect of their lives. The more religion is an integral part of their lives the bigger a fool they are. Remember 9/11? The religious fanatics should be killed before they kill us. The biggest creepy fool of all lives in the Whitehouse and gives tax breaks to the wealthy and ease restrictions on polluters and coddles Halliburton. Some kind of old-time religion, huh? Immorality was an issue in the election and their names are Shrubya/Cheney/The Hammer.

Scotty Boy,

Your comment/insult wasn't clever at all. Religious people (from the NSEW) are basically fools and I don't want to be ruled by them. Are you one of them?

I brought up the idea of breaking up the country so that there might be some intelligent comments. I see that I'm not going to get any, at least not from you. Do you reside (that means live) in the Bible Belt and pray to Jesus. Did you get off on the Passion of the Christ? I thought so!

Listen, Will, if at anytime you need a handout, you shouldn't feel guilty about groveling...er I mean asking for it. Don't worry, we'll sense when you're spending the donations on beer or your girlfriend. Besides, begging becomes you. But, have you designated yourself a charitable organization with the IRS yet?

I have just one more thing to say. Many people voted for that belligerent dummy Bush because they thought he would better protect us from terrorism. I feel far less safe. Would we not be safer if we were no longer the sole super power in the world. This is a strong argument (in my opinion) for dissolving the Union in one form or another. Wouldn't No. Korea and Iran and the Muslim fanatics have less to fear if the U.S. were broken into pieces? The U.N. can and should police the world and fight the terrorists. The U.S. as a country just has to go. I've convinced myself at least.

I apologize for my ignorance of U.S. history but just why did Lincoln save the Union? The death and devastation wrought by the civil war was mind-boggling. In some ways, we are still fighting it. How can we say it was worth it? Why is no one presently talking about dissolving the union? Czechoslovakia recently broke into the Czech Republic and Slovakia without fanfare. As a Californian, I have little culturally in common with Southerners, I despise their ignorant religiosity and I would be glad to give them their own country. I really have no use for them. Another idea: dissolve the Union entirely and just have a loose federation of states like the former Soviet Union. If it weren't for the cold weather, I'd make a beeline for Canada. Maybe, I'll treat myself to a new parka and move there anyway; Will seemed to enjoy his recent trip there. Will, think you'd like living there on a permanent basis? (Btw, I like your travelogues very much.)

Every time I write a check it costs the bank a few few cents. Stop acting like a troll, Micha! A rich banker like you ought to send Will rent money monthly for your being such a trollopy troll. Notice, I didn't call YOU a HO!

Are you calling Professor West a ho in the title to your piece? I think that's provocative and mean-spirited. Would you call a white professor a ho? Please explain yourself.

Billionaires, like Soros, shouldn't exist; neither should piss poor stuggling writers. I tried to donate a dollar but then I became aware of the high transaction cost involved and I took back my donation. I don't want to give your money to the credit card company or another billionaire named Bezos. I'd rather put a stamp on a letter and send you a check if only I new where to send it.

I suppose we could make the "surfing experience" available to blind people by putting them in a swimming pool with a boogie board and create waves with an artificial wave machine. We can sprinkle sand around the perimeter of the pool to simulate the beach. To make the experience as real as possible we should add in a mechanical shark or a rubber ducky. Also, the blind should be given headphones with beach sounds of seagulls, happy beachcombers, gurgling sounds of drowning inexperienced swimmers, & whatever else makes for a realistic & pleasant day of sand & surf. For their own safety, I would resist giving in when my sightless patrons shout, "make the waves bigger!" You have to draw a line in the sand somewhere, you know. And, we mustn't forget to add the "smells of surfing" coming not only from the crisp salty air but also from beer kegs and cigarette smoke. Lately, I seem to get a lot of that when I go to the beach here in Santa Monica. Thanks, Tom, for the great idea! Now, if only I had a swimming pool at my house. I wouldn't even worry about being sued should one of the blind surfers accidentally drown or become a parapleigic (yes, ADA, I never intended to accomodate parapleigic surfers) from some freakish mishap. For, you can't get cash out of an octopurse (only murky ink) as all surfing lawyers know all too well!

--Trumpit