Sunday, June 15, 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Can Parenting Be Taught?
The biggest problem in education today is the parents. Period. I've written about this before and now it seems that a trend is emerging in education discussions. We need to start teaching people how to be better parents and this recent cover story from the Christian Science Monitor illustrates just how we can.
The stakes are high. Parental improvement might seem like a national pastime these days, given the unprecedented volume of advice books, blogs, and lectures coming at moms and dads across all demographics. But for lower-income women like those in this classroom, and others like them across the country, improved parenting skills can not only increase a family’s happiness, it can also dramatically improve a child’s long-term educational achievement, lower the chances of juvenile delinquency, improve health measures, and reduce poverty, according to a growing coalition of child-development experts and scientists.
Further, we instructors do not have the time to teach students basic manners and respect for elders. We don't have enough time to hit the standards in a school year as it is. I'm really sick and tired of having students look at me with that quizzical expression when I tell them to do something. It's as if they have never heard an adult tell them what to do. Over the years, a greater percentage of students are showing up to junior high without the foggiest idea of how to behave. Far too many parents have done a very poor job raising them.
Of course, this is a big reason why I am a big supporter of the president.
President Obama’s Affordable Care Act allocated $1.5 billion for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program to expand parent home visitation initiatives, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, which pairs registered nurses with pregnant, at-risk women. School systems across the country are collaborating with programs such as Families First to expand their parent education classes.
It seems like a small amount but ECFE is absolutely vital if we are going to turn this tide around. And it can't all be done federally as the CSM article notes.
Local governments are also getting involved, coming up with their own ways to try to improve parenting. (Providence, R.I., for instance, recently launched the Providence Talks program to “close the 30-million-word gap,” a reference to the difference in the number of words spoken to a baby with lower-income parents by the age of 4 compared to a child with higher-income parents – a difference shown to have long-term educational repercussions.)
All of us at the community level need to work together to be better parents. The rest of the CSM piece details how we can do that. So, let's get started!
The stakes are high. Parental improvement might seem like a national pastime these days, given the unprecedented volume of advice books, blogs, and lectures coming at moms and dads across all demographics. But for lower-income women like those in this classroom, and others like them across the country, improved parenting skills can not only increase a family’s happiness, it can also dramatically improve a child’s long-term educational achievement, lower the chances of juvenile delinquency, improve health measures, and reduce poverty, according to a growing coalition of child-development experts and scientists.
Further, we instructors do not have the time to teach students basic manners and respect for elders. We don't have enough time to hit the standards in a school year as it is. I'm really sick and tired of having students look at me with that quizzical expression when I tell them to do something. It's as if they have never heard an adult tell them what to do. Over the years, a greater percentage of students are showing up to junior high without the foggiest idea of how to behave. Far too many parents have done a very poor job raising them.
Of course, this is a big reason why I am a big supporter of the president.
President Obama’s Affordable Care Act allocated $1.5 billion for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program to expand parent home visitation initiatives, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, which pairs registered nurses with pregnant, at-risk women. School systems across the country are collaborating with programs such as Families First to expand their parent education classes.
It seems like a small amount but ECFE is absolutely vital if we are going to turn this tide around. And it can't all be done federally as the CSM article notes.
Local governments are also getting involved, coming up with their own ways to try to improve parenting. (Providence, R.I., for instance, recently launched the Providence Talks program to “close the 30-million-word gap,” a reference to the difference in the number of words spoken to a baby with lower-income parents by the age of 4 compared to a child with higher-income parents – a difference shown to have long-term educational repercussions.)
All of us at the community level need to work together to be better parents. The rest of the CSM piece details how we can do that. So, let's get started!
Friday, June 13, 2014
The Eric Cantor Pooping
My oh my has there been one massive shitting of the bed over the loss Eric Cantor experienced on Tuesday night to Tea Party Challenger David Brat. Some of the diarrhea..
"It's about amnesty in immigration!"
"The Tea Party is back"
"He was too much of a Washington insider so the conservative masses voted him out!"
And my personal favorite...
"This signifies a conservative tsunami this fall!"
Well, here are my thoughts in order of the pooping. First, we already have amnesty in terms of illegal immigration. That's the result of doing nothing. We're aren't going to deport 11 million people and be the cause of one of the worst humanitarian crises the world has ever seen. Further, the poster child for "evil amnesty" is Lindsey Graham who handily won his primary so this comment makes no sense.
Second, the Tea Party never left. Their ideology is now the ideology of the "mainstream" candidates. No conservative today can win without being far right because of the nature of their base which basically means they are digging themselves into a deeper hole for national elections. 2014 may end up being bad for Democrats but 2016 is going to be a fucking disaster for Republicans. Imagine, Hillary Clinton and both houses of Congress controlled by the Democrats.
And we haven't seen David Brat yet on the national stage. I doubt the Democratic challenger can beat him in VA-7 but if he goes Akin or Murdock, say goodbye to that seat.
Third, conservative masses...yes, all 36,000 to 28,000 people at 10 percent voter turnout...8,000 votes...some mass indeed! All this says to me is that a lot of people couldn't be arsed to show up. There's also the fact that this was an open primary which means there could have been some Democrats in their voting as well:)
Finally, it warms my heart when the right gets over eager and shit. We've seen this before only to have it followed by stubborn disbelief (Karl Rove, Ohio, 2012 Election). I realize this is the last chance for the 12 year old boys to "beat" Barack Obama but they are going to put themselves right out of business jumping the gun with this kind of talk. Don't they realize how hard organizations like the OFA and other Democratic groups are going to be working to get the vote out? They vastly underestimated the president and his election operation before and look what happened.
Honestly, I am very happy to see Eric Cantor being shown the door. He's an asshole and a giant metaphor for all of the bullshit the president and the Democrats have to put up with every day. And I want far right candidates running in all elections this year. It just helps out the moderate Democrats. Perhaps all of this is over analysis, though. Don't both men look the same?
"It's about amnesty in immigration!"
"The Tea Party is back"
"He was too much of a Washington insider so the conservative masses voted him out!"
And my personal favorite...
"This signifies a conservative tsunami this fall!"
Well, here are my thoughts in order of the pooping. First, we already have amnesty in terms of illegal immigration. That's the result of doing nothing. We're aren't going to deport 11 million people and be the cause of one of the worst humanitarian crises the world has ever seen. Further, the poster child for "evil amnesty" is Lindsey Graham who handily won his primary so this comment makes no sense.
Second, the Tea Party never left. Their ideology is now the ideology of the "mainstream" candidates. No conservative today can win without being far right because of the nature of their base which basically means they are digging themselves into a deeper hole for national elections. 2014 may end up being bad for Democrats but 2016 is going to be a fucking disaster for Republicans. Imagine, Hillary Clinton and both houses of Congress controlled by the Democrats.
And we haven't seen David Brat yet on the national stage. I doubt the Democratic challenger can beat him in VA-7 but if he goes Akin or Murdock, say goodbye to that seat.
Third, conservative masses...yes, all 36,000 to 28,000 people at 10 percent voter turnout...8,000 votes...some mass indeed! All this says to me is that a lot of people couldn't be arsed to show up. There's also the fact that this was an open primary which means there could have been some Democrats in their voting as well:)
Finally, it warms my heart when the right gets over eager and shit. We've seen this before only to have it followed by stubborn disbelief (Karl Rove, Ohio, 2012 Election). I realize this is the last chance for the 12 year old boys to "beat" Barack Obama but they are going to put themselves right out of business jumping the gun with this kind of talk. Don't they realize how hard organizations like the OFA and other Democratic groups are going to be working to get the vote out? They vastly underestimated the president and his election operation before and look what happened.
Honestly, I am very happy to see Eric Cantor being shown the door. He's an asshole and a giant metaphor for all of the bullshit the president and the Democrats have to put up with every day. And I want far right candidates running in all elections this year. It just helps out the moderate Democrats. Perhaps all of this is over analysis, though. Don't both men look the same?
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Move Over, Walmart. The Internet Is Here
Amazon.com has been making news for the last month with its open war against Hachette, a New York publisher, over e-book prices. In the process Amazon has earned the wrath of many writers, including Steven Colbert, whose books are published by Hachette:
"I am not just mad at Amazon. I am mad Prime," he said, punning Amazon's premium service.When Amazon.com started out 20 years ago, it was great little revolutionary startup. It used the power of the Internet to deliver products customers wanted without having to leave their homes, or fill their mailboxes with tons of catalogs that just wind up in recycling bins, or have to deal with corporate behemoths like Barnes & Noble and Walmart.
But along the way Amazon.com became one of the big bad companies that it rebelled against. In the process it put a lot of small and large bookstores (including Borders, a major chain), out of business. Amazon now sells pretty much anything you can think of, including books, music, videos (streaming and on disc), computer equipment, hardware, even major applicances.
Money that was once spent at local bookstores, record stores, video stores, hardware stores and computer stores is now going off to Seattle.
Amazon doesn't just sell physical products. It provides server farms for other companies with Amazon Web Services. Netflix uses AWS to deliver streaming video, even though Amazon is a direct competitor with Amazon Instant Video. Amazon also snatched up a major news outlet with the Washington Post.
Amazon doesn't just sell its own products. Like eBay, it acts as a front-end to thousands of small bookstores and merchants. When you look for certain products you're offered several sources, with Amazon's items listed first, and other suppliers listed with their prices. To compete with Amazon, those small suppliers have to offer substantially lower prices. Of course, Amazon gets a cut if you buy from those other sellers, reducing their profit margin even further. Amazon's "referral fee" runs from 6% to 25% (it's 15% for most things), depending on the product category, plus a one-dollar fee per item (sellers can buy a subscription to waive the item fee).
Amazon will tell you that they're helping independent bookstores and merchants by giving them an easy way to sell used books and specialty products. But are those businesses thriving, or simply dying a long, slow death?
Other Internet companies have been following Amazon's lead in diverse realms. Uber's car service has a lot of taxi drivers worried. Driving a cab is not very profitable, and cabbies often make less than minimum wage considering all the idle time, fuel costs, fees and cab leases:
“Poverty among the drivers in Chicago is just palpable, worse than elsewhere,” Ms. Desai said. “Most drivers work 60 to 70 hours a week and earn below the minimum wage, and that’s sad because Chicago is the second-largest taxi market in the United States. Drivers have been suffering in such deep poverty, and that’s been compounded by the threat of the ride-sharing companies.”
Uber often runs afoul of local taxi regulations. The company defends its ride-share service by saying it's more convenient, faster, and provides an opportunity for more people to profit. It may seem like a great deal to Uber drivers now. But they're completely dependent on Uber. Like Amazon, Uber gets a cut of every ride. That money used to stay in the local community is now going off to San Francisco.
In the long run, how good a deal will Uber drivers get? Uber sets the rates and takes a 20% cut. Over time Uber can afford to reduce rates because they get a slice of millions of small transactions. How long will it take for Uber drivers to wind up in the same position as cabbies are today? Also, most Uber drivers are not dedicated to driving. How reliable will the service be in the long run if their drivers are a bunch of amateurs only doing it because they have a spare hour?
As more people rely on the Internet, advertising gravitates there. Every time you do a Google search for a restaurant Google gets paid for popping up ads for local eateries. That's money that used to be spent on advertising in local phone books, newspapers and television stations. And it's not just ads in Google. When you visit the website of a local news outlet, the advertising is being provided by an Internet company that pays the operator of the site a pittance for each click or view.
The Internet is a two-edged sword: it has allowed startups like Amazon, Google, eBay and PayPal to become hugely successful competitors against monoliths like Walmart and Visa/Mastercard. At the same time, after only a few years these Internet giants are savaging local businesses in the same way it took decades for Walmart to do.
But Internet companies are even worse for local economies than Walmart because they hire no local employees. They contribute almost nothing to the local economy, other than the delivery service that drops off your package (which is another corporate behemoth like FedEx or UPS, or the Post Office).
People once thought the Internet would empower the little guy, but it may not be shaping up that way. Instead of increasing local control, is the Internet centralizing resources, money and power in the hands of fewer and fewer companies?
In the near future it's likely that the very infrastructure of the Internet itself will be an unregulated monopoly owned by a just a couple of humongous conglomerates, such as Comcast, who are intent on dictating what content you can get. But that's a topic for another day.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Palling Around with Putin
While Republicans have been blasting Obama's "failure" and "weakness" in Ukraine, executives at the giant oil companies have been palling around with Putin and his cronies. On the right are pictures of BP's David Campbell shaking hands with Igor Sechin, one of the Russian officials hit by US economic sanctions, and Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Shell.
And it's not just the foreign oil companies. Neil W. Duffin, an executive for Exxon Mobil, signed a deal with Sechin last month. Exxon has been working hard to sabotage America's efforts to economically isolate Russia for its slow-motion invasion of Ukraine:
Mr. Tillerson, Exxon’s chief executive, told reporters last week in Dallas that the company was making its skepticism about sanctions clear to the United States government. “Our views are being heard at the highest levels,” he said.How can we trust giant energy conglomerates like Exxon Mobil when they cut deals with tyrants like Putin, undermining American foreign policy? How can we believe for an instant that these companies have the best interests at heart for the United States, its land and its people when they tell us that fracking doesn't poison our water, that drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is completely safe, and that carbon dioxide doesn't cause global warming?
“There has been no impact on any of our business activities in Russia to this point, nor has there been any discernible impact on the relationship” with Rosneft, he added.
Hey Gun Cult, Wake Up!
I'm still thinking about this quote from yesterday...
While I don't believe a majority, or even significant chunk, of anti-government, pro-Second Amendment types are violence-prone and comparable to this delusional husband and wife, I can't help but think much of their rhetoric encourages certain [already] unstable people to act out violently.
Nancy Lanza proved this to be absolutely true.
Consider this quote as well from a recent Quora discussion.
They seem to think we all look at them as "good guys with guns". I don't feel safer when I see a random dude carrying an assault rifle in public. I feel like they are essentially the same as the people they pretend they are protecting us from. Like they are a mass shooting waiting to happen.
Indeed.
So here's the mess that makes zero sense when you look at all of it. The Gun Cult asserts they need all their guns to protect themselves from a possible (in their minds...super likely and any day now!!) tyrannical government that will oppress them. Yet they take no responsibility for the myriad of people that subscribe to this ideology (see: brainwashing) who are mentally unstable and are causing exactly the violent society they claim to not want to have.
Further, the open carry idiots that parade around with guns honestly leave one to wonder...is this person going to start shooting? How can you tell if they are or aren't? Consider that the guy with concealed carry who got shot in the Jerad and Amanda Miller rampage didn't even know that there was more than one shooter which shows just how much a a lie the "good guy with a gun" meme truly is.
Listening to anything gun activists say these days is completely nuts. Their analysis of this issue is so fucking bad that I have to wonder why there are still some people who believe them.
While I don't believe a majority, or even significant chunk, of anti-government, pro-Second Amendment types are violence-prone and comparable to this delusional husband and wife, I can't help but think much of their rhetoric encourages certain [already] unstable people to act out violently.
Nancy Lanza proved this to be absolutely true.
Consider this quote as well from a recent Quora discussion.
They seem to think we all look at them as "good guys with guns". I don't feel safer when I see a random dude carrying an assault rifle in public. I feel like they are essentially the same as the people they pretend they are protecting us from. Like they are a mass shooting waiting to happen.
Indeed.
So here's the mess that makes zero sense when you look at all of it. The Gun Cult asserts they need all their guns to protect themselves from a possible (in their minds...super likely and any day now!!) tyrannical government that will oppress them. Yet they take no responsibility for the myriad of people that subscribe to this ideology (see: brainwashing) who are mentally unstable and are causing exactly the violent society they claim to not want to have.
Further, the open carry idiots that parade around with guns honestly leave one to wonder...is this person going to start shooting? How can you tell if they are or aren't? Consider that the guy with concealed carry who got shot in the Jerad and Amanda Miller rampage didn't even know that there was more than one shooter which shows just how much a a lie the "good guy with a gun" meme truly is.
Listening to anything gun activists say these days is completely nuts. Their analysis of this issue is so fucking bad that I have to wonder why there are still some people who believe them.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Cooking the Books to Get Their Bonuses
There's been a lot of noise about the problem with vets getting appointments at VA hospitals. So here are some numbers for the VA hospitals in Minnesota, where I live:
There were similar findings in the audit for California: wait times were mostly in line with what I see in private practice. Note that some of the problem San Diego VA clinics are are operated by private contractors.
The map on this page shows the distribution of wait times across the country. There are basically 12 or 13 clinics in the country out of maybe a hundred that have long wait times; most of the country is experiencing wait times comparable to private medical practice.
So it seems like the problem at the VA isn't endemic. There are certain facilities where administrators are are committing fraud because they don't have the resources to meet the demand, but they still want to make their numbers so they can get their bonuses. These bonuses may well be the source of the problem:
The average wait time for a patient seeking primary care for the first time is 28 days at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and its outpatient clinics and 25 days for the St. Cloud system, the data show. But the waits are much shorter for established patients who are already in the VA system -- three days for Minneapolis and two days for St. Cloud. Nationwide, the longest average wait for new patients seeking primary care is 145 days in Honolulu.The Minnesota times are typical for what I experience when I make appointments to see a doctor with my private insurance. If I want to see a specialist for the first time I have to wait two or three months. But if I'm already an established patient, it only takes a few days, just like it does for vets. There's no catastrophe occurring in Minnesota.
Waits for new patients seeking specialty care are longer -- 50 days for new patients for the Minneapolis system and 47 days for St. Cloud's, compared with four days for established patients to see specialists for Minneapolis and five for St. Cloud. The longest average wait for new patients nationwide is 145 days in Harlingen, Texas.
There were similar findings in the audit for California: wait times were mostly in line with what I see in private practice. Note that some of the problem San Diego VA clinics are are operated by private contractors.
The map on this page shows the distribution of wait times across the country. There are basically 12 or 13 clinics in the country out of maybe a hundred that have long wait times; most of the country is experiencing wait times comparable to private medical practice.
So it seems like the problem at the VA isn't endemic. There are certain facilities where administrators are are committing fraud because they don't have the resources to meet the demand, but they still want to make their numbers so they can get their bonuses. These bonuses may well be the source of the problem:
According to congressional reports and VA employees, medical-center staffs nationwide were pressured to reduce waits even as backlogs grew. A carrot-and-stick approach provided cash bonuses and advancement to successful managers, but performance downgrades for failures.
In the words of whistle-blowers, that emphasis created incentives to "cook the books."So, it's not really a question of a generally incompetent government medical system, but the corrupting influence of money: instead of rocking the boat by complaining to upper management about resource shortages, managers lied to make sure they got their bonuses.
Yet Another Shooting
Well, we have had yet another school shooting. The president's words say it best...
"Our levels of gun violence are off the charts. There's no advanced, developed country on Earth that would put up with this," President Barack Obama said in Washington in response to a question about gun violence.
He said the nation should be ashamed of its inability to get tougher gun restrictions through Congress in the aftermath of mass shootings that he said have become commonplace in America. Most members of Congress are "terrified" of the National Rifle Association, the President said, adding that nothing will change until public opinion demands it.
"The country has to do some soul searching about this. This is becoming the norm, and we take it for granted, in ways that as a parent are terrifying to me," Obama said.
Yet we are putting up with it. Why?
Because the hysterical old ladies also known as the Gun Cult won't grow the fuck up.
"Our levels of gun violence are off the charts. There's no advanced, developed country on Earth that would put up with this," President Barack Obama said in Washington in response to a question about gun violence.
He said the nation should be ashamed of its inability to get tougher gun restrictions through Congress in the aftermath of mass shootings that he said have become commonplace in America. Most members of Congress are "terrified" of the National Rifle Association, the President said, adding that nothing will change until public opinion demands it.
"The country has to do some soul searching about this. This is becoming the norm, and we take it for granted, in ways that as a parent are terrifying to me," Obama said.
Yet we are putting up with it. Why?
Because the hysterical old ladies also known as the Gun Cult won't grow the fuck up.
Good Words
As somewhat of a counter to Nikto's post yesterday, I have these words from a Quora commenter.
I have no sympathy for the types of people who gathered at Bundy's ranch, advocated violence against law enforcement officers, and actively threatened law enforcement officers all for the sake of a racist freeloader who mooches off the public. Having said that, I don't think one could fairly say the delusional murderers of two Las Vegas Metro officers and a citizen were part of any organization beyond their own insane pairing.
What occurred here in Las Vegas struck a chord with me for a number of reasons. I've spoken out, in many instances here on Quora, about my belief many of these radical Second Amendment advocates seem a greater threat to the general public than anyone they profess to be using the Second Amendment to protect us from. I've made it clear my belief that, unfortunately, it seems these right wing groups and militant Second Amendment groups are dangerous, violent, racist, and attract extreme elements.
I've spoken out in favor of gun control and discussed my own experiences with Nevada's concealed carry laws, and can't ignore the fact that it would seem a private, CCW-ed citizen very well may have lost their life (along with the officers) protecting countless others at that WalMart. I believe many of these extremists who flocked to Bundy's ranch were dangerous and delusional, racist and violence-prone. There has been a very noticeable increase in threats from these types of people, acts of violence carried out by them, and so on.
Having said all of the above, though, it would seem this crazy couple were fringe extremists even at the Bundy ranch. They were unstable and reactionary above and beyond what many of their peers would be, even. But I don't doubt they likely fed off of information and statements they regularly heard from those who shared some of their anti-government views, websites they visited, literature they read, and so on. They reacted to the right-wing stimulus around them with actions that even many of those right wing folks would find reprehensible and unacceptable.
It is likely not too unreasonable to think that the Miller's were delusional and unstable people in search of a cause, and had circumstances been different they could have ended up killing and causing harm to others for whatever cause they felt they could latch on to and would give their lives meaning. It just so happens, though, that right wing extremists with an affection for firearms and virulent hatred of authority find plenty of positive feedback from others that helps legitimize, in their minds, their views.
While I don't believe a majority, or even significant chunk, of anti-government, pro-Second Amendment types are violence-prone and comparable to this delusional husband and wife, I can't help but think much of their rhetoric encourages certain [already] unstable people to act out violently.
Couldn't have said it better myself. I view Kevin and the TSM commenters in exactly this light. Their ideology is more dangerous than what they claim to be protecting the rest of us from and they encourage mentally unstable people to commit acts of violence. Oh, and that notable increase he speaks of? It's all being documented here at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Keep it up, fuckos. Your idiocy may end up making your apocalyptic predictions come true.
I have no sympathy for the types of people who gathered at Bundy's ranch, advocated violence against law enforcement officers, and actively threatened law enforcement officers all for the sake of a racist freeloader who mooches off the public. Having said that, I don't think one could fairly say the delusional murderers of two Las Vegas Metro officers and a citizen were part of any organization beyond their own insane pairing.
What occurred here in Las Vegas struck a chord with me for a number of reasons. I've spoken out, in many instances here on Quora, about my belief many of these radical Second Amendment advocates seem a greater threat to the general public than anyone they profess to be using the Second Amendment to protect us from. I've made it clear my belief that, unfortunately, it seems these right wing groups and militant Second Amendment groups are dangerous, violent, racist, and attract extreme elements.
I've spoken out in favor of gun control and discussed my own experiences with Nevada's concealed carry laws, and can't ignore the fact that it would seem a private, CCW-ed citizen very well may have lost their life (along with the officers) protecting countless others at that WalMart. I believe many of these extremists who flocked to Bundy's ranch were dangerous and delusional, racist and violence-prone. There has been a very noticeable increase in threats from these types of people, acts of violence carried out by them, and so on.
Having said all of the above, though, it would seem this crazy couple were fringe extremists even at the Bundy ranch. They were unstable and reactionary above and beyond what many of their peers would be, even. But I don't doubt they likely fed off of information and statements they regularly heard from those who shared some of their anti-government views, websites they visited, literature they read, and so on. They reacted to the right-wing stimulus around them with actions that even many of those right wing folks would find reprehensible and unacceptable.
It is likely not too unreasonable to think that the Miller's were delusional and unstable people in search of a cause, and had circumstances been different they could have ended up killing and causing harm to others for whatever cause they felt they could latch on to and would give their lives meaning. It just so happens, though, that right wing extremists with an affection for firearms and virulent hatred of authority find plenty of positive feedback from others that helps legitimize, in their minds, their views.
While I don't believe a majority, or even significant chunk, of anti-government, pro-Second Amendment types are violence-prone and comparable to this delusional husband and wife, I can't help but think much of their rhetoric encourages certain [already] unstable people to act out violently.
Couldn't have said it better myself. I view Kevin and the TSM commenters in exactly this light. Their ideology is more dangerous than what they claim to be protecting the rest of us from and they encourage mentally unstable people to commit acts of violence. Oh, and that notable increase he speaks of? It's all being documented here at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Keep it up, fuckos. Your idiocy may end up making your apocalyptic predictions come true.
Not a Real Boy
The news is full of stories like this about Eugene Goostman, a computer program that "passed" the Turing test. It passed by making 30% of the judges in the contest think it was a human being and not a computer.
After reading the conversation captured by Time and my own discussion with Eugene Goostman, I wonder whether the judges who were fooled by Eugene would pass the Turing test themselves. You can try it yourself here: http://www.princetonai.com/.
People have been writing programs that pretend to be people for decades. One of the most famous ones was Eliza, written by Joseph Weizenbaum in the 1960s. The conceit of Eliza is that it's a Rogerian psychotherapist. It works by looking for keywords that produce specific response patterns, and by repeating things back to you that you said to it. For example, if you said, "My mommy took my teddy away from me," Eliza would respond with, "Tell me more about your parents."
In Computer Power and Human Reason (1976, p. 189) Weizenbaum describes how Eliza fooled people who knew it was a computer program into thinking that it actually understood something. He compares it to people who are taken in by fortune tellers, believing that these frauds have real insights and "know things." Eliza utilized a primitive form of "cold reading" that mediums and psychics use to deceive their victims.
The conceit of the Eugene Goostman "chatbot" is that he's a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy. This is probably the key to the success of the deception, because it sets the bar for language comprehension and attention span to a very low level.
Eugene appears to work much like Eliza, but it's got a bigger database of canned information that it can discuss, and has a better natural language processor. When you ask it a question, it answers as best it can, which is usually fairly easy if you ask it about things it's programmed to know. Then it throws out another conversation starter about its pet guinea pig, or some other non-sequitur to make conversation.
In the dialog I had with it I ignored the conversation starters and just asked more questions. I asked, "Can you answer yes or no questions?" it responded with, "Sure, anyone can. Anything else?" It gives similar non-responses to other questions about it's capabilities. Ask it, "What's the Ukrainian word for house?" and you get "I have no idea, sorry. And I forgot to ask you where you are from.." Ask it in Ukrainian if it speaks Ukrainian (which it claims to, as well as English, Russian, and a little Yiddish), you get "Err... And what it was? Maybe it was something hexadecimal?" This is because it's a computer program scripted in English that doesn't know what to do with the Unicode characters Ukrainian is written in.
About the third sentence it threw out a red herring about evil robots, as one might imagine a snarky 13-year-old could. When I asked, "Could you repeat what you said about evil robots?," it responded with, "I call all these chatter-bots "chatter-nuts" due to their extremely high intelligence. I hope you recognize irony."
And if you ask the most obvious question: "Are you a real boy?" You get, "I would rather not talk about it if you don't mind. By the way, I still don't know your specialty - or, possibly, I've missed it?" And if you repeat your question you get, "Could you repeat it once more again? Wonna ask me something more?"
Clearly, Eugene Goostman is not a real boy. Or maybe the judges don't consider 13-year-old boys to be real human beings?
And I forgot to ask you where you are from.. I hope you recognize irony. And I still don't know your specialty.
After reading the conversation captured by Time and my own discussion with Eugene Goostman, I wonder whether the judges who were fooled by Eugene would pass the Turing test themselves. You can try it yourself here: http://www.princetonai.com/.
People have been writing programs that pretend to be people for decades. One of the most famous ones was Eliza, written by Joseph Weizenbaum in the 1960s. The conceit of Eliza is that it's a Rogerian psychotherapist. It works by looking for keywords that produce specific response patterns, and by repeating things back to you that you said to it. For example, if you said, "My mommy took my teddy away from me," Eliza would respond with, "Tell me more about your parents."
In Computer Power and Human Reason (1976, p. 189) Weizenbaum describes how Eliza fooled people who knew it was a computer program into thinking that it actually understood something. He compares it to people who are taken in by fortune tellers, believing that these frauds have real insights and "know things." Eliza utilized a primitive form of "cold reading" that mediums and psychics use to deceive their victims.
The conceit of the Eugene Goostman "chatbot" is that he's a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy. This is probably the key to the success of the deception, because it sets the bar for language comprehension and attention span to a very low level.
Eugene appears to work much like Eliza, but it's got a bigger database of canned information that it can discuss, and has a better natural language processor. When you ask it a question, it answers as best it can, which is usually fairly easy if you ask it about things it's programmed to know. Then it throws out another conversation starter about its pet guinea pig, or some other non-sequitur to make conversation.
In the dialog I had with it I ignored the conversation starters and just asked more questions. I asked, "Can you answer yes or no questions?" it responded with, "Sure, anyone can. Anything else?" It gives similar non-responses to other questions about it's capabilities. Ask it, "What's the Ukrainian word for house?" and you get "I have no idea, sorry. And I forgot to ask you where you are from.." Ask it in Ukrainian if it speaks Ukrainian (which it claims to, as well as English, Russian, and a little Yiddish), you get "Err... And what it was? Maybe it was something hexadecimal?" This is because it's a computer program scripted in English that doesn't know what to do with the Unicode characters Ukrainian is written in.
About the third sentence it threw out a red herring about evil robots, as one might imagine a snarky 13-year-old could. When I asked, "Could you repeat what you said about evil robots?," it responded with, "I call all these chatter-bots "chatter-nuts" due to their extremely high intelligence. I hope you recognize irony."
And if you ask the most obvious question: "Are you a real boy?" You get, "I would rather not talk about it if you don't mind. By the way, I still don't know your specialty - or, possibly, I've missed it?" And if you repeat your question you get, "Could you repeat it once more again? Wonna ask me something more?"
Clearly, Eugene Goostman is not a real boy. Or maybe the judges don't consider 13-year-old boys to be real human beings?
And I forgot to ask you where you are from.. I hope you recognize irony. And I still don't know your specialty.
If Asians Said The Stuff White People Say
Note how idiots on both side of the political spectrum get ripped in this one...
Monday, June 09, 2014
Vegas Cop Killers Were Right-Wing Terrorists
Breaking news: the Vegas cop killers were racist right-wing terrorists who want to overthrow the federal government.
That isn't what the headlines will read, but that's the gist of the story in the New York Times:
LAS VEGAS — A married couple who fatally shot three people here Sunday — including two police officers — before killing themselves spoke incessantly about overthrowing the government and had ties to the anti-government Patriot movement, neighbors said Monday.And then there's this:
The police on Monday identified the couple as Jerad and Amanda Miller, who moved to Las Vegas in January and participated in anti-government protests at the ranch of Cliven Bundy, who became a symbol of opposition to the federal government this spring for his refusal to pay grazing fees for his cattle. Mr. Miller, 31, and Ms. Miller, 22, killed two Las Vegas police officers on Sunday at a pizza restaurant and fatally shot a third person at a nearby Walmart before dying in a suicide pact.
Jerad Miller, 31, then covered the officers with a Gadsden flag -- a yellow banner with a coiled snake above the words, “Don’t Tread on Me” -- and placed a manifesto with a swastika symbol on one officer’s body, according to police officials speaking at a morning news conference. The flag, which dates from the American Revolution, has been adopted by a string of ultra-conservative and libertarian groups.Clearly, this was a politically motivated assassination, an outright act of terrorism, no different from the killings committed by IRA and Al Qaeda terrorists.
The Millers' Facebook page was filled with anti-law enforcement postings and violent threats. The neighbor with whom the Millers left their pet cat said that Mr. Miller talked nonstop about his opposition to the United States government. "All Jerad wanted to do is talk about overthrowing the government,” said Ms. Fielder. “I thought he was talking smack.”
And there's this:
A post on Ms. Miller’s Facebook page from 2011 warns that people are “lucky I can’t kill you now but remember one day I will get you because one day all hell will break loose and I’ll be standing in the middle of it with a shotgun in one hand and a pistol in the other.”
Ms. Miller worked at Hobby Lobby, the "Christian" store who went to the Supreme Court to avoid providing birth control coverage for employees. A coincidence, or birds of a feather flocking together?
These rants are typical of the rhetoric of people demanding they be able to walk around in public with guns. Undoubtedly their compatriots will dismiss them as lunatics who went too far. But how close behind them are the people who spend their every waking moment glorifying guns and violence and imagining government-wide conspiracies to disarm them? What perceived slight will tip them over the edge and send them on a murderous rampage?
And finally, there's this:
LAS VEGAS — Police say a shopper armed with a concealed weapon inside a Las Vegas Wal-Mart confronted an armed man who entered the store with his wife moments after the couple killed two officers in a nearby restaurant.So, the final tally? Bad guys with guns: 5, good guys with guns: 0.
Assistant Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Monday that 31-year-old Joseph Wilcox of Las Vegas was in the checkout line when he saw Jerad Miller fire a shot and went to confront him.
Miller's wife, Amanda, pulled out a gun and shot Wilcox in the rib area. He collapsed and died.
At a news conference on Monday Las Vegas police said, “We believe this was an isolated act.”
Sadly, I'm not so sure. There's a lot more of these nuts hanging out at Cliven Bundy's ranch with a whole lot of guns. And by their own admission, they're more than willing to use them.
Two Dead Cops and Typhoid Rambo
Two good guys with guns eating lunch just got executed in a Las Vegas pizza parlor:
Sheree Burns, 48, told the Las Vegas Sun she was eating at the restaurant, seated just behind the two officers.
A man came up to one of the officers and shot him in the head, Burns said. She said she ducked under her table but peeked up and saw the other officer being shot.
She said the man took an officer's handgun and the two attackers fled.
Having guns did nothing to protect the officers. The cops' guns only served to give the killers additional firepower.
At the same time in Texas we've got all these open-carry nut jobs walking into restaurants brandishing assault rifles.
How are the cops supposed to know that the clowns in Texas carrying AK 47s into restaurants aren't going to shoot them in the back?
Having even more guys with guns doesn't help the situation: the shooters in Vegas were suicidal nut jobs. As with the recent misogynistic suicidal nut job in California, and most other suicidal nut jobs who've gone on killing sprees over the last several years, the threat of death does not deter them. They are the bad guys, and they shoot first. Plus, they want to commit suicide! Dying is the whole point!
The open-carry nut jobs in Texas are rather dense. If some mass murderer wants to open fire in a restaurant, or a dope fiend wants to rob the joint, who's he going to shoot first? The cashier or the egocentric nitwits who thought it was a good idea to scare everyone half to death by bringing guns into a restaurant?
So, at this point, if a cop just up and shot one of these open-carry idiots, who could possibly question his judgment? Two of his fellow officers were just gunned down in Vegas. Anyone with a gun is a clear and present danger, not just because they might be wacko, but because any wacko can grab that gun from them.
And it's not just about mass murder or suicide by cop. Amateurs who carelessly brandish semiautomatic rifles in public places as if they were Super Soakers endanger themselves and everyone around them. Every day you read another story about how some moron cleaning his gun killed his son, or how some woman's gun fell out of her purse and killed her husband, or how some idiot with a gun in his waistband shot himself in the groin.
It's only a matter of time before one of these swaggering, overconfident open-carry idiots forgets there's a round in the chamber and shoots a waitress. Or leaves his weapon in the can and some little boy who thinks it's a toy finds it and shoots his dad. Or thinks he's witnessing a robbery in progress and shoots innocent bystanders in the cross fire. Or gets knifed in the back by a madman who takes his weapon and kills him and 12 innocent children.
All of these are low-probability incidents. But when you have millions of guns, all those low probabilities turn into thousands of dead and wounded victims.
Guns are a communicable disease: anyone exposed to them is at risk of injury and death. As with any disease, carriers are more likely to die themselves; six out of ten firearms deaths are due to suicide. If you openly carry a gun in public you can expect people to treat you like you have a deadly infection. You're a Typhoid Rambo.
You have a right to free speech, but you don't have the right to go into restaurants and harangue the other patrons about the atrocities that J.J. Abrams has wrought upon Star Trek. Why do gun nuts think that their supposed Second Amendment right to tote their deadly toys in public trumps the rights of everyone else to not get shot?
Reduction Emissions Already Achieved
With bowels being blown and predictions of the US economy swirling down a boiling pit of sewage due to the president's new carbon emissions regulations, the right has completely failed to note the following: the 30 percent reduction the president is calling for has already been achieved in some parts of the country. And guess what?
No boiling pit of sewage.
Take a look at this recent piece from the New York Times and the Georgetown Climate Center.
At least 10 states cut their emissions by that amount or more between 2005 and 2012, and several other states were well on their way, almost two decades before Mr. Obama’s clock for the nation runs out.
That does not mean these states are off the hook under the Obama plan unveiled this week — they will probably be expected to cut more to help achieve the overall national goal — but their strides so far have not brought economic ruin. In New England, a region that has made some of the biggest cuts in emissions, residential electricity bills fell 7 percent from 2005 to 2012, adjusted for inflation. And economic growth in the region ran slightly ahead of the national average.
Once again, Republicans are essentially lying about the detrimental effects of these new regulations. They are also continuing to lie about cap and trade.
Through a program called cap and trade, the Northeastern states also impose a small price on emissions of carbon dioxide from power generation, and plow the proceeds back into energy-efficiency programs, such as retrofitting homes and businesses, lowering electricity bills. And the states have encouraged the growth of emissions-free renewable power and more judicious use of energy. David W. Cash, the Massachusetts commissioner of environmental protection, said he saw a direct link between the state’s above-average economic performance in recent years and lower energy bills for businesses and consumers.
“Every dollar they’re not spending on coal that comes from Colombia or natural gas that comes from Pennsylvania is a dollar that stays here in Massachusetts,” Mr. Cash said.
So, there goes another bullshit myth.
When will the rest of the United States stop listening to these bozos?
No boiling pit of sewage.
Take a look at this recent piece from the New York Times and the Georgetown Climate Center.
At least 10 states cut their emissions by that amount or more between 2005 and 2012, and several other states were well on their way, almost two decades before Mr. Obama’s clock for the nation runs out.
That does not mean these states are off the hook under the Obama plan unveiled this week — they will probably be expected to cut more to help achieve the overall national goal — but their strides so far have not brought economic ruin. In New England, a region that has made some of the biggest cuts in emissions, residential electricity bills fell 7 percent from 2005 to 2012, adjusted for inflation. And economic growth in the region ran slightly ahead of the national average.
Once again, Republicans are essentially lying about the detrimental effects of these new regulations. They are also continuing to lie about cap and trade.
Through a program called cap and trade, the Northeastern states also impose a small price on emissions of carbon dioxide from power generation, and plow the proceeds back into energy-efficiency programs, such as retrofitting homes and businesses, lowering electricity bills. And the states have encouraged the growth of emissions-free renewable power and more judicious use of energy. David W. Cash, the Massachusetts commissioner of environmental protection, said he saw a direct link between the state’s above-average economic performance in recent years and lower energy bills for businesses and consumers.
“Every dollar they’re not spending on coal that comes from Colombia or natural gas that comes from Pennsylvania is a dollar that stays here in Massachusetts,” Mr. Cash said.
So, there goes another bullshit myth.
When will the rest of the United States stop listening to these bozos?
Sunday, June 08, 2014
A Sunday Reflection
Jesus recognized the need for blending opposites. He knew that his disciples would face a difficult and hostile world, where they would confront the recalcitrance of political officials and the intransigence of the protectors of the old order. He knew that they would meet cold and arrogant men whose hearts had been hardened by the long winter of traditionalism. ... And he gave them a formula for action, "Be ye therefore as wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." ... We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.
--Dr. Martin Luther King, Strength to Love (1963) (Ch. 1 : A tough mind and a tender heart)
--Dr. Martin Luther King, Strength to Love (1963) (Ch. 1 : A tough mind and a tender heart)
Saturday, June 07, 2014
Couldn't He Just Admit It?
I realize that conservatives like Kevin Baker have inferiority complexes but couldn't he just admit that he is pissed that the president has done a far better job than any conservative?
He got bin Laden. Your guy didn't. Deal with it.
Oh, and while you are admitting things...
He got bin Laden. Your guy didn't. Deal with it.
Oh, and while you are admitting things...
Bill Maher Demolishes The Gun Cult
Last night, Bill Maher's final new rule put an end to the Gun Cult. At first glance, I thought this image
might be Kevin Baker but then I realized that it wasn't. (Oh, real quick, I'm nearly certain this post will elicit some "You are obsessed with Kevin" remarks. Bear in mind, I have no link on the side of my blog that says "The Kevin Baker Essays." :))
Even thought it was Kevin, Maher took aim at people just like him and other gun bloggers and commenters and showed the world just how fucking moronic, childish, and, well, mentally challenged they all are. I know we shouldn't make fun of people with disabilities but these folks are so angry and filled with hate towards the dark magicians (federal government, liberals, anyone that doesn't agree with exactly everything they say) that are their "enemies" that no one should really care. I see them exactly was the world saw the Nazi party in Germany when they got their start...militant, extreme, virulent, authoritarian, incredibly distrustful of any different than they are, prejudiced, see violence and force as the best solution for most situations, and, most of all, use propaganda in a way that would make Goebbels proud.
In short, they are assholes and stupid ones at that, now that their little gun parades around retail outlets have led to the exact thing they didn't want...gun bans at places like Starbuck's and Chipotle. It won't be long now before one of these idiots has an accident or two with their guns and then it will get even worse for them.
I'm curious, though. What does the T-shirt say on the dude with the Oreos below? I can't read it.
might be Kevin Baker but then I realized that it wasn't. (Oh, real quick, I'm nearly certain this post will elicit some "You are obsessed with Kevin" remarks. Bear in mind, I have no link on the side of my blog that says "The Kevin Baker Essays." :))
Even thought it was Kevin, Maher took aim at people just like him and other gun bloggers and commenters and showed the world just how fucking moronic, childish, and, well, mentally challenged they all are. I know we shouldn't make fun of people with disabilities but these folks are so angry and filled with hate towards the dark magicians (federal government, liberals, anyone that doesn't agree with exactly everything they say) that are their "enemies" that no one should really care. I see them exactly was the world saw the Nazi party in Germany when they got their start...militant, extreme, virulent, authoritarian, incredibly distrustful of any different than they are, prejudiced, see violence and force as the best solution for most situations, and, most of all, use propaganda in a way that would make Goebbels proud.
In short, they are assholes and stupid ones at that, now that their little gun parades around retail outlets have led to the exact thing they didn't want...gun bans at places like Starbuck's and Chipotle. It won't be long now before one of these idiots has an accident or two with their guns and then it will get even worse for them.
I'm curious, though. What does the T-shirt say on the dude with the Oreos below? I can't read it.
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