I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Linkee-poo hears voices all the time

The green-eyed monster when it comes to other writers' success. Oh my. So been there. But then as a new writer (am I still new?) you need to accept that nobody's path is the same.

Elizabeth Shack shares an iPad app that tracks changes.

John Scalzi with a PSA regarding Clarkesworld Magazine.

Where were you when the Twitter wars started. First protestors use social media to organize to topple dictators. Now states use Twitter to announce airstrikes. (Pointed to by John)

This is probably the best summation of GeneralGate. This is what happens when you mix politics and sex. The result is only slightly better than politics and religion, and that's because of the prurient entertainment value. And I'm sure why they conservative media hasn't been all over the "ZOMG, she's Lebanese!" angle is because 1) she's Christian Lebanese-American and 2) she's probably a conservative. But, yeah, the rich and powerful and the wannabe rich and powerful. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Yet another reason liberals believe conservatives have gone off the deep end. Look, these are your elected officials, not Froggy McFruitcake in his compound talking about how the guberment is out to get him.

In the fallout of the election, I've talked about "lessons learned." Well, according to Fred Clark, some evangelicals are rethinking their political alliances and positions, but then some of them are thinking they just need to clap harder.

Two NPR stories on the GOP Governor's Association and the various Young Republicans as they sort out the messages of the last election (hopefully they'll have the transcripts up soon). Yep, still not getting it. Also, good luck shucking the social conservative strangle hold. McCain tried to do that in his 2000 presidential bid. You saw how far it got him.

Look, if it weren't for the social conservatives brought in by Reagan and Gingrich, I'd probably still be a Republican (although I like to think I would have had the same experiences that brought me to the conclusion that the table is fixed and needs liberal policies to right). Because I'm very much like what Jay Lake describes here. As I've said before, I am for a smaller, more efficient government. But I'm not for a "military ONLY" government. I'm for reduced taxes, but not because of the anti-American philosophies of Grover Norquist (which, frankly, conservatives if you've signed his pledge you've prima facia violated your oath of office, IMHO).

"They have so little faith in the country they profess to love that they’re willing to abandon it straightaway rather than help us fix it." Jim Wright on the Texans jangling the secession bell, again. Not to mention the Fiscal Cliff and making the hard decisions. The real problem is people are using a lot of the words they're saying as code words to mean other things. So when they talk about "making government smaller", they aren't really talking about streamlining activities, automating systems, etc. They mean, "No IRS, Departments of Education, Energy, EPA, etc."

Tweet of my heart: @jameslsutter: Coworker: "I used to wonder what it'd be like to read other people's minds. Then I got a Facebook account, and now I'm over it."

Alligator Quotient: There's this one really big mother that's bothering me.

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