These times . . they are a changing

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Science vs. Myth

The argument has been forwarded, now and in the future, that science is a “mythos” (likely by someone newly introduced to the term “mythos”). This statement is patently false, even moreso than at first glance.A “mythos” is defined as either: 1)Myth 2)Mythology or 3) The pattern of basic values and attitudes of a people, characteristically transmitted through myths and the arts.

If definitions 1 and 2 are the intended target for application, we can soundly refute the claim simply by the nature in which science is revealed, documented and maintained. Mythology relates to a system of beliefs handed down through the ages, with a definitive creation/origin myth and a hierarchy of celestial power manipulating the confusing world around us. This hierarchical power often culminates in a pantheon of Gods attributed to various natural functions. In a time before science, Mythology served to provide answers for our most pressing and difficult questions. And it serves the populace well as long as they are willing to maintain an open-ended mythology that embraces new observations.

In a very limited sense, and with poetic license, we may be obliged to call science a mythology. However, differences arise in several areas including the source of the information, the structure of power, and the motivations (even if subconscious) of mythology usage in pedagogy. Mythology, one sees after some study, is intended to serve the purpose of either propping up social institutions, regulating agricultural rituals/processes/traditions, or enforcing societal roles (i.e. hyping the ideals of heroic courage, romantic love etc). Therefore, while effective, no one would argue that mythology is intended to be true. It is a reflection of the society in which it exists.

Science, on the other hand, serves the truth as its only master. It has scrupulous guidelines for objectivity, for reproducibility, for conservative claims. Mythology is constructed much like a protracted game of telephone. Science never allows for these misgivings.

If, from the definition of mythos, definition 3 is the intended target the discrepancy is even more obvious. Whatever our lifestyles, the mainstream lifestyle in this nation (its values and attitudes) carries very few of the philosophical tenets of the scientific method. 70% of this country believes in the existence of angels, THAT is a mythos. A myth pasted together over time to appease the wary souls of the masses. To prop up the social roles of compassionate love and faith.

On the other hand, the periodic table can be used to predict and create an infinitum of experiments. Newtonian physics, while continuously updated with new facts, has taken us to the furthest reaches of the solar system. The theory of evolution plays neatly into every biological discovery and theory. If science is a mythos it will be the last mythos mankind ever needs and will, in time, take us to every corner of the universe and roundly refute every previous misconception we’ve ever had.

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Free Republic

Today, I was kicked off Free Republic yet again (this is the 4th or 5th time I believe). I can no longer link to my comment or the crap-ass page they developed to show me comments that members made to me. However, below is the e-mail I sent the webmaster (okay, I lie here about being a conservative and Bush voter, but that's what my profile also said [a little covert ops that likely stretched my tenure on their site a week or so]). Let me know what you think,

Webmaster,
I am not writing to request my posting privileges be reinstated. My brief tenure at your ugly (design-wise), masturbatory, single-tract website was enough to give me the insight into the far-right mind I was looking for. For your information I, a registered Republican who voted twice for Bush (but wouldn't again, I will admit), had my posting privileges revoked for a comment (not exact quoting here as the post itself was removed as well) along the lines of "So .. . were the projections incorrect or did someone else come along and mess things up?" to an article regarding how none of our economic hardships are Bush's fault despite late-Clinton era projections of a huge surplus.

My feelings are not hurt by this, I've been kicked off of other sites (left and right, but never for such an innocuous comment). I am writing to tell you how utterly lame your website and community is: Say, for example, my comment was in bad taste (an opinion I could not possibly understand, it was simply a question any fiscal conservative should be supremely interested in). Would it be better to simply "zot" (IMO the most childish behavior I've seen since leaving middle school) me out of existence or hold up my comment to extraordinary scrutiny and provide illustrative examples of why I'm wrong (though I don't think one can be "wrong" for asking this type of question. Simply answering it, even with a strong bias, would suffice).
If there is any legitimacy to this question (and I think there is, after all, what DID happen to our budget surplus) a website interested in political discourse and the freedom of expression (values you ironically claim to uphold) would revel in the opportunity to discuss this matter at length; using the internet to spread research about economic cause and effect re: gov't spending, revealing possible media distortions about the projections themselves, presenting cost-benefit analysis of government programs. This is the kind of thing one would expect from a political community that claims to be interested in the State of the Union.
What is obvious to me, as a result of this expulsion, is that your website and community is woefully uninterested in political discussion. Even when it is NOT partisan politics. It is much easier for you and your anal retentive members to focus on the sexual transgressions of a previous president (despite his overwhelming popularity) than the widespread financial and ethical transgressions of a sitting president. And this is why your kind is becoming more irrelevant by the day, not because your Conservatives or Republicans (both of which I consider myself) but because you refuse to think. You consider anyone with a D next to their name evil and an R to be righteous, when you must know somewhere deep in your cold, ignorant hearts that it is much greyer than that. You have no concept of the precedent being set, and seem completely unable to think as much as 6 months into the future. What will a Democratic president be capable of under the precendents that Bush has set? Pre-emptive wars, warrantless wiretaps, rampant cronyism .. .You would have hung Clinton from the nearest tree if he had done a fraction of what W has done . . oh wait, you already did.

So Free Republic, wallow in your own ejaculate as you've been doing since your inception, fall all over yourself protecting a man who doesn't give a shit about you or your families, enthusiastically support a war that you wouldn't be willing to fight yourself, and most of all continue to squelch any opportunity for argument or discussion. Most of all, learn how to design a fucking website. I mean, you do hold fundraisers right?

Fuck You,
crowdof1000s

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JAM!

Just trying to figure out this embed video thing . . .

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Talons That Go Unnamed - Chapter 2 (Roj)

Chapter 2, Roj:

So Roj is headed back to work the day immediately following his reminder of the incident in his past. Essentially what happened is that he was (at age 9 or so) in the audience of a morning talk/news show when a reporter stood up, declared the fundamental lack of truth and calculated goverment collusion in broadcast journalism (Roj can't put his finger on the specifics) and suicides.

This memory haunts him, along with the postmodern trials of parenting and commuting in a world that the individual thinks is essentially not worth it. He struggles to think of reasons to convince his daughter to go to school, etc.

Comments on form, function are appreciated.

“But why do I have to?” Bethany had asked, pleading for some explanation in what must have seemed like very dire straits to her. The problem was that Roj didn’t have an answer, not one he could articulate truthfully. And he certainly did not have the constitution to troll out tired euphemisms. Somewhere down there he had a good reason she should go to school, but even that was nearly spoiled, to Roj’s satisfaction, by the deplorable state of education. They were essentially taught to fill out forms and play games on the computer.

“You have to go . .” Roj now said to an empty cab, between dropping her and her brother off and the office. “Because, that’s the least you have to do. I mean, to be a productive citizen, to be socially acceptable you have to go to school.” Roj veered the monstrous family vehicle back onto the service drive. A new BP had opened up, accessible seemingly only from the service drive and the air, and Roj needed coffee. He had been up all night battling back horrific memories, convinced even more than before that the government must have slimey tentacles in every shady deal around the world. Perhaps coffee was a tool they used; hook the populace and they can be hindered, downright groggy and dysfunctional, by careful fluctuations in supply.

____________________________________________

In the lot gleaming white stands screamed at him in white LCD; junk food promotions displayed prominently above the machines. The roof overhead held powerful lights, etching out a yawning oasis from the dismal semi-city (Roj was now half-way to work) around it. If Roj didn’t know exactly what this place was, if after 31 years he had been pulled out of Plato’s infamous cave, he would have thought this place had strict association with divinity.
________________________________________________________________

As he stepped inside the shoplifting sensors went off and spooked Roj in to a crouch. He virtually always set these off, especially the newer ones, and there were a half-dozen misunderstandings over the last couple years with security personnel. He couldn’t explain it, and no one had ever been able to posit a reasonable theory.

The Arab at the counter waved him in and Roj made his way back to the drinks. He wanted something thirst-quenching, something that would cool his throat, knowing that there would be coffee at the office. The gas station was designed to be flown blind, every aisle matching the reiterated the intuitions of an American in America. Cold beverages along the back two walls, a comprehensive, waist-level island for pouring and prepping coffee, magazines & impulse items at the front counter and a progressive order of want to need as one surveyed the aisles from front to back.

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V for Vendetta

I'm not into doing film reviews, and this is in no intent a personal journal about my comings and goings. The movie V for Vendetta was exhilirating in only the way a film about revolution could be.
While there is a wide berth for any viewer to extol or denigrate the methods of thefilm's hero, known only as V, what is clearly not at issue is whether or not his cause was just. He sought to accomplish two goals cleverly intertwined: a revolution in a dystopic and Orwellian UK and vengeance on individuals responsible for not only his personal losses but also the the condition of the State.

As is mandated in the blockbuster film (and my sarcasm should detract little from this film's value, as without this appeal few would likely see it) V is brilliant, impeccable, debonair (if horribly disfigured), and handy with weapons and gadgets. These attributes put him in the key role of carrying out the mission of Guy Fawkes, the intention being nothing other than a complete reversal of the political process through the only thing that has really ever worked: chaos. The intellectuals among us can bicker about the merits of any one of a million idle philosophies from Nietzche to Nihilism, and while in the ultimate end this discussion will be worthwhile, no real change can occur until we're dangling from that precipice. Not to worry though, it seems we are already quite close.

"Artists tell lies that reveal the truth"

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Warrantless Wiretaps

By now the droning populace has had the opportunity to read about one of the most egregious, unforgiveable errors of the current government: warrantless surveillance. In America, this country once so apparently pristine in its appreciation of the individual, so willing to fight and die to spread something as simple as the freedom of speech, you and I and anyone with a conscience and a pulse is merely a piece of data in a list. We can be moused over at any time to find out if further action is warranted. Have you spoken out against the war? Have you made a phone call to a foreign country? Have you looked up the word Al-Qaeda on the internet out of curiousity? This may make you a suspect and potentially a "terrorist"; a word bandied about with such gall that it has lost meaning. I predict an eventual nonviolent subculture self-labeling themselves "terrorists" in the most metaphoric sense.

These are fantastic times for historians, eschatologists and the literati. Never have we seen such historic events which simultaenously symbolize the end of something great (if not the world) and have been predicted in literature for the past 100 years.

George Bush adamantly broke a law established to grant him the ability to do the things he claims it restricts him from. I'm not going to cite a bunch of federal laws or even any news stories, point Firefox to Dailykos or even the New York Times and search "Fisa", "Wiretaps" or "Feingold Censure". The facts laid bare are that Bush and his league of assholes broke the law under the pretense that they intended to "protect the Amerikun Peep-ul from Terruh" (and yes I will make fun of someone's accent when it's demonstrably fake), when in fact they could have operated within the umbrella of the FISA ruling. This ruling allows Them (and I use this term because it applies to all agencies of government) to conduct surveillance for up to 72 hours while a warrant application is pending. This ruling has established a court program that has denied less than 1% of applications. This ruling establishes a serious crime for any violation of it. That being said there can only be a handful of reasons the Administration would be brazen enough to track your movements anyway: 1) They thought they were going to get away with it 2) They're incapable of appreciating that the law applies to them 3) They knew goddamn well their applications would not be approved (and thus they were attempting to conduct surveillance on people that posed no threat to you or I).

What's the big deal with all of this? What do we have to worry about if we aren't colluding with terrorists? Isn't this going to make us safer? All three would be relevant questions if we were dealing with a government that had any remaining credibility. In light of the Port Deal and other events (Katrina Relief, 9/11 discrepancies) it strikes me as fairly obvious that this administration doesn't really care about individuals.

Also at issue is the very nature of our 3 branch government. If you will recall High School civics, a free and democratic government must operate under a complex of checks and balances. Virtually every action by the government is pushed through this system and comes out on the opposite end as (hopefully) a benefit to the American people. Warrantless wiretapping by the Executive Branch takes out the check of the legislature (they designed and passed the FISA law that guided/restricted government surviellance activities) and the judiciary (no longer signing off on warrant applications, they have no say in how the program is administered). Do we see what is wrong with it now? This activity is not something that a truly free country would engage in. This is a step toward fascism, plain and simple.

Russ Feingold, a Democrat from Wisconsin (and someone we should all hope is running for prez in '08), initiated legislation for a censure on Bush for this program. Without getting into the technicalities of this action, suffice it to say that Feingold was exhausted by the GOP-run legislatures refusal to take real action on something virtually everyone agreed was a crime. Feingold has been shunned by other Democrats because they are too scared to fight the GOP, even with Bush at an abysmal 34% approval.

I try to make some overall point, what this means in a larger sense. Going beyond the political arm of our national religion (that is the cult of celebrity) what all of these events lead up to is this: You are not a free individual. You do not live in a free country, nor or you safe from outside threats. While terrorism may not be your primary concern, your entire lifestyle is being compromised to facilitate programs that are only ostensibly directed at its eradication. This is no longer partisan politics, this is freedom or slavery.

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Talons that Go Unnamed Update

Chapter 1 (Roj)

Here is where the other main character is introduced. . .these snippets make some attempt to give an idea of what the chapter is about, though quite a bit is missing. Comments are appreciated.

Roger Campbell, Roj, was at his proverbial wit’s end. The once quite bearable cross of working at Global had unexpectedly grown in weight and awkwardness. There were new demands. He sat at the dinner table eating his wife’s processed salad; she used a salad shooter or similar device that chopped up the lettuce, spinach etcetera into unnatural, bite-sized pieces. Roj had not had time to take off his work clothes before dinner, and as he’d pulled up his chair he had untucked his dress shirt and rolled up his sleeves. It was only Monday.

Little Drew and Bethany sat around the table as well, although dinner wouldn’t be ready for another ten minutes. Their early attendance meant they were sacrificing precious TV time simply to be near their father. This affection roused a contentious sense of pride; Roj had been searching for a few short minutes of peace and thought he’d found it with Hilary barbequing on the back porch and the children fixated by the babysitter. His head swam with figures, involuntarily assembling loose reports based on Drew’s account of the day.

__________________________________________________________

“Well, you know. New kid Cced me instead of BCCing me in a potentially sensitive e-mail, so now my supervisor is auditing my e-mail. Its not really a concern, its just one of those things. The specs from the lab were in engineering units instead of metric so I spent most of the day trying to round–off radical numbers while still remaining within tolerances. The FTP server went down, so I lost about a gig of data . . . kind of sucked today.”

This bewildered Hilary, she hadn’t the foggiest concept of what much of this meant. Roj purposely answered her questions in this manner, leaving her feeling a little stupid and dissuading her from asking further questions. It normally worked.

Roj brought pieces of meat loaf to his mouth and took in the burgeoning pointlessness of local news coverage. His relationship with the slowly devolving medium recalled the sort of celebrated villainy of pro wrestling’s bad guys. He absolutely hated it and yet could not resist its gleam. The news crew was hard at work busting soft corruption amongst municipal workers. In one grainy shot a Mexican in coveralls was smoking what appeared to be a joint. Roj resented the fact that the news network believed it should “work for you”, i.e. the vapid couch potato with a penchant for righteousness. Something drew him to every broadcast.

________________________________________________________________

A hyper woman of muddled descent was speaking live at the courthouse, for whatever reason, holding up a small white card. Roj’s interest perked.

A plan initially studied for use in those considered a flight risk, this technology is now being used to keep tabs on everyone from drunk drivers to pumpkin smashers. This is Alaina Umbave (this she said with a strained accent), for Channel 6 News.

“Unbelievable.” Roj said and looked to his wife for commiseration. “How can they do this?”

“I think it’s a good idea . . .”

“How could it possibly be a good idea?” Roj was frustrated, both by her willingness to accept such an outrage and his own lack of surprise at her position.

“Well, it will help keep track of the bad guys.”

_________________________________________________________

He shoved a wad of dry meatloaf in his mouth. He preferred the taste with ketchup, of course, but felt it was disingenuous to smother the dish in ketchup and claim that it was enjoyable. Roj was more inclined to understand just how base and unexciting Hilary’s meal really was. He made a conscious effort to think about the issue of RFID tags, to make a cohesive stance on it; he wanted to be able to talk about it intelligently should the issue come up at work.

The reason you can’t do this is because . . . . well, why exactly. I know I wouldn’t want an RFID tag. But many people would say that I don’t have to worry because I’m not a criminal.

__________________________________________________

The previous day’s paper, unread, was already on the bathroom counter and Roj settled in to read at least several pages of it. Muffled sounds of children’s laughter outside and the electronic hiss of the television.

The newspaper was the last bastion of genuine, informative news. Roj disdained the local TV news (as aforementioned), and also believed that the national news networks tried too hard to appease their audience. The radio had devolved into simple partisan bickering. The newspaper on the other hand was bound to the news; it was the genesis of the journalism discipline that was later bastardized by the mass media. Roj envied real, investigative reporters.

On the front page was the unsettling headline “Cohost suicides on Good Day USA”.

The next few minutes were dreamlike, fuzzy around the edges. He didn’t read the article right away, but rather tried to calm the ripple of anxiety that filled him. His spine was ice. The headline blew on a hot coal at the bottom of some unused repository, something from his childhood.

__________________________________________________________

The picture was tastefully clipped from the brief moment after she had murdered the Secretary of State and before she shot herself. She was standing over him claiming that justice had been served and that “Now the people w[ould] hear the truth!”. Her screaming visage, in grainy black and white, dragged Roj’s warming memory out of the ash.

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