Of course I've got a blog. Who doesn't?

[Jennifer]

Link leading to my latest British blog post concerning the TSA's foray into child pornography.

http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/04 ... sited.html

I deliberately kept the video description straightforward and emotion-free, to avoid accusations of manipulating the facts.

[Wixenstyx]

I've been kind of head-in-the-sand about this TSA business. I knew it was 'getting bad', but to what extent we've been defining 'bad', I was not sure.

Now I'm sure. MY daughter is six years old. If this happened to her, I'd be horrified.

[Jennifer]

I've been kind of head-in-the-sand about this TSA business. I knew it was 'getting bad', but to what extent we've been defining 'bad', I was not sure.

Now I'm sure. MY daughter is six years old. If this happened to her, I'd be horrified.

And if you let on that you were, you'd be arrested.

[Hugh Akston]

Mythbusters and rational choice philosophy

[JasonL]

Mythbusters and rational choice philosophy

That McCumber piece was horrible beyond words. He started with rational choice theory, then kind of stuffed everything else he didn't like about capitalism into a blender, hit pulse 10 or 20 times, and arbitrarily called the result "rational choice philosophy". Was he really meaning to attack the self interest theory of rationality as an ethical construct? Because he didn't. Was he attacking choice as a value among competing values in such a way that we could see how he'd trade choice for something else? Not really. All we know is he doesn't like a philosophy he made up that apparently calls the aggregation of power the definition of ethical behavior.

The hilarious part is when he invoked the dreaded quantum uncertainty monster. Sounding just like Deepak Chopra, he's all "rational choice implies that reason permits you to analyze unbreakable causal chains, which quantum science (ugh!) clearly says is impossible." Sure, if you are an electron.

I also liked the sublimely abusurd "the world today is infected with this product of the RAND corporation, as evidenced by institutions that grow wealth ... having wealth. And power. Ha! I've dealt capitalism a fatal blow!" Because, you know, nobody in history had ever thought of power enabling them to do more stuff than no power. Nope, that's RAND and the Kochtopus baby.

I'm not an ethical rationalist. I don't think you can get ought from is, and I don't think it is reason that tells me I should suffer a single paper cut if it saves 10 million babies somewhere. If that's what he was getting at, he should just refer people to Hume. This piece was a jumble of poorly argued philosophy with social activism and honest to golly hegelian marxism thrown in. Zoiks how did that make it past the editor ...

[Hugh Akston]

My first attempt at addressing him went about three times longer than what I ended up actually posting. There's so much wrong with his original piece that it probably would have been shorter to say "he's right that rationality can't fully account for ethics" and leave it at that.

I had the same thought about Hume, who argued for skepticism about causality and the inadequacy of rationality as applied to ethics. But of course Hume wouldn't have gotten homeboy to the promised land of peace and love where we transcend the petty interests of the individual in pursuit of the universal Will.

Zoiks how did that make it past the editor ...

1) I have my doubts that the editor knew what a Hegel was, let alone what to do with it.

2) There doesn't seem to be any coherence or plausibility requirement to publish a piece in the NYT Editorial pages.

[dhex]

editorials are like that. they check them for libel and other actionable shit. beyond that it's, uh, an editorial.

[Kolohe]

Sure, if you are an electron.

I'm pretty sure I'm not an electron. Actually, I'm positive.

[Stevo Darkly]

You people are strange, yet charming. But I guess we all have our own little quarks.

[Jennifer]

Americans and TSA: A Call for Sacrifice

http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... ifice.html

[Aresen]

thoreau has a great post up at Unqualified Offerings.

[JasonL]

thoreau has a great post up at Unqualified Offerings.

This is part of what I'm getting at in the 2012 for Obama thread. Expressions of doooommm make it seem like nothing could possibly be worse than this. That's fucking crazy talk. Almost everything else that has ever happened in human history is considerably worse than what we have going on now. To hit the reset button in a fundamental way ... I don't get it.

[Jennifer]

Call your congressman, and urge him to vote in favor of passing Jennifer's Law! It's for the children, or public safety, or something.

http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... orism.html

[thoreau]

Just for dhex, I discuss "Stupid party vs. evil party"

http://highclearing.com/index.php/archi ... 7/24/13280

[Sandy]

Just for dhex, I discuss "Stupid party vs. evil party"

http://highclearing.com/index.php/archi ... 7/24/13280

I think you're overlooking the fact that Republicans were bending over backwards themselves to defend a president who was not-very-conservative on many issues. When your team is in power: it must win no matter how dumb it acts, less the other guys get in power. When your team is out of power, it's RAH TEAM RAH. STOP THE OTHER TEAM AT ALL COSTS.

[Jennifer]

The Department of Homeland Security is hiring staff writers.

http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... tizen.html

As the ad says, "Our services touch every US citizen."

[Jadagul]

The Department of Homeland Security is hiring staff writers.

http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... tizen.html

As the ad says, "Our services touch every US citizen."

See, this is why they need better writers.

[D.A. Ridgely]

The Department of Homeland Security is hiring staff writers.

http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... tizen.html

As the ad says, "Our services touch every US citizen."

See, this is why they need better writers.

Or better graphic artists:

"Our services touch every US citizen."



"Now, Janie, show the judge where the TSA agent touched you..."

[Jennifer]

I am rewriting my resume and applying for the job; I also sent a pitch to the British blog about it, and if they don't buy it (they probably won't, cause their budget is shit until autumn), I'll post it myself.

It's my standard resume, except each job description is tweaked to emphasize my qualifications for the job. Specifically, my willingness to tell bald-faced lies completely at odds with reality. Jennifer the high school teacher: taught certain courses, rewrote curriculum, "Lied to parents when necessary to be optimistic about offspring's future prospects: 'Your child is destined for a happy competent adulthood characterized by wise, intelligent decision-making, all thanks to your excellent helicopter parenting'."

[Jennifer]

This is the first draft of my job application letter, which I actually intend to send off:
http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... t-job.html

[Hugh Akston]

This is the first draft of my job application letter, which I actually intend to send off:
http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... t-job.html

Brilliant.

[Jennifer]

If they actually called me in for an interview ... oh, man, that would be sweet.

[thoreau]

I am in awe. Your cover letter shall be remembered as one of the great pieces of snark, ranked alongside Electron Band Structure in Germanium My Ass.

[Hugh Akston]

A Modest Proposal to End Unemployment

[Sandy]

Like.