Link catchup: Politics and amusement

[skreidle]

Politics:

fuzzyamy: VA General Assembly passed Affirmation of Marriage Act, not yet governor-approved, stating that a same-sex partnership shall have no rights whatsoever, and out-of-state partnerships are void in VA. Gov. Warner recommends striking the preclusion amending to allow for domestic partnership benefits, which is a Good Thing. Contact your representatives to voice your opinion, hopefully in opposition to the bill and/or in support of Warner's revisions!


From prester_scott: "They Hate Us Because of Our Freedom." You think you're free?

Via deusinnomen: NYTimes: Hillary Clinton on health care, and it's an interesting read. I'll admit I didn't read it all the way through, but there's some content there I'm sure some of you will find interesting.

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Amusement/Niftiness:

An amusing rant by vinz_klortho on after-hours drop boxes: "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to transfer some package or message, the receiving party may not be present..."

Remember when kids clothespinned baseball cards into the spokes of their bikes to make it sound like a dirtbike? Introducing Turbospoke!

Conversatron and clever syllabic transpositions.

Nifty words from antikate:
Colposinquanonia - Estimating a woman's beauty based on her chest
Tarantism - An urge to overcome melancholy by dancing
Sphallolalia - Flirtatious talk that leads nowhere

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Both::

Get Your War On updated! "Yeah, I watched that shit. It was like rubbernecking a highway accident made entirely of words."

Comments

[deusinnomen.livejournal.com]

I loved it when the reporter was basically like, "Just who the hell exactly ARE we turning sovereignity over to on June 30th? Space Ghost?" And Bush said, "Fuck, I don't know--go ask Lakhdar Brahimi." (Source)

bahahah!!!!

[evelynne.livejournal.com]

Remember when kids clothespinned baseball cards into the spokes of their bikes to make it sound like a dirtbike?

ROTFLMAO! I forgot about that! I used to do that!

I'm extremely amused by Turbospoke, although I confess the concept loses some of its charm when there's a DEVICE on the market to do it. I like the homespun clothespin-and-baseball-card idea better. ;)

Please Correct What You Wrote

[fuzzyamy.livejournal.com]

Hey Scott? That's not what I said at all. I know you have a large readership, so I don't want to be misquoted. Also, if people are inspired to call their legislative representatives, I would hope that they tell them their opinion based on good information.

I was hoping people would support Governor Warner's revisions to the bill, as I understand them. They are written in legislative English, which isn't something I'm necessarily fluent in, but here's how the bill reads now (bold emphasis added by myself):

Affirmation of Marriage Act for the Commonwealth of Virginia States that a civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited and that such an arrangement entered into in another state or jurisdiction is void in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby are void and unenforceable.

Here's how Governor Warner's recommendations would change the bill:

States that a civil union, between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited and that such an arrangement entered into in another state or jurisdiction is void in Virginia.

Notice the absence of the bold print from the previous version. What this says to me is that Warner is taking out the provisions that could otherwise would prevent people from creating domestic partner benefits.

I don't know if Warner can win the civil union fight in Virginia, as I mentioned in the comment section of this journal entry by iriantuu, because I believe that the House could likely overrule Warner. The bill, HB 751, passed through the House easily the first time through by a vote of 79 to 18.

Re: Please Correct What You Wrote

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

:-O! Big black mark for my misreading--I believe I tripped over "striking the preclusion." Fixed.

A case for driver registration

[six2.livejournal.com]

Can you drive a motor vehicle across this “free” country without someone in government approving of you as a driver? Or without getting government permission to use that vehicle on the roads? If you are not free to travel without permission, you are not free.

(From 'you think you're free?') I hope he's not suggesting that we should do away with driver licensing and registration. While it may be bureaucratic and often complicated, making a comparison between Nazi Germany and the US because of driver registration (a) minimizes the places where we have lost precious liberty, such as recent wiretapping and search and seizure, right to trial legislation (b) violates Godwin's Law and (c) implies that driver registration and licensing is a plague, without even considering his other arguements, where in countries without registration, safety inspections, etc., driver fatalities have a profound impact on society. It's not that you'll kill yourself driving an unsafe vehicle without proper training - you'll kill someone else.

I'd say that driver registration/licensing/safety inspections save at least tens of thousands of lives each year in the US alone, perhaps hundreds of thousands. If that means you have to jump through a few hoops to get on the road, so be it. It's part of the reason why we have some of the best roads in the world.

Oh, and your klortho link is broken.

Re: A case for driver registration

[weeping-angel.livejournal.com]

oubt the writer is suggesting that we do away with driver licensing and registration. Rather, I think he is attempting to make a point about freedom, both perceived and real.

Thus the statement

Freedom is a state of being where an individual does not have to get permission in order to do something that harms no one else’s person or property.

and the subsequent example of:

How many things can you do without getting some form of government permission? Can you build your house on your own property without obtaining government approval? Can you put a new room on your house? Or a new porch? Put in a new toilet? Or even put a shed in your backyard?

Don't get me wrong, I agree that driver licensing and registration are a good thing. In other areas of the article, I see the authors point. A large and intrusive state is a Bad Thing™.

Re: A case for driver registration

[six2.livejournal.com]

Right, but the comparison that we are Nazi Germany because of driver registration was far fetched, and belittled the seriousness of WWII. No, we're not free to do as we please in many ways, but you've got to pick your battles.

He builds up to...So, let’s reiterate. You need government permission to make your home, travel, earn a living, defend yourself, obtain medical treatment, and educate your children. You will never get government approval for many of those things in many places. You will never get government permission to entertain your mind and body in unapproved ways. At certain times, you cannot criticize those who decide who and what gets approved. You must sell your property to the government if they want it, and you must kill and die for them if they tell you to. And you have no choice but to pay for it all anyway, whether you like it or not.

And still, we think we are free.

And that's a good point, but if we feel that that, challenging the authority of government as a whole, is the war we must win, we stand a much higher chance of losing and being ignored entirely vs. fighting a war against the Patriot Act, DMCA, intrusive multi-national companies, war in Iraq etc. and other such specific injustices.

Re: A case for driver registration

[weeping-angel.livejournal.com]

I don't disagree - but I wonder - is it better to fight the symptoms and hope for a cure, or to strike at the root of the problem?

It's a tricky question that I find myself on both sides of. Ah well, such is life.

Re: A case for driver registration

[six2.livejournal.com]

I'm a pragmatic person by nature. If the root of governmental problems is driver registration and zoning laws, then so be it, we should strike there. But I don't really have a problem with either.

I think that the patriot act, war, deficit, poor international relations, and several other recent problems can be traced back to an agenda of authoritarians (particularly Bush and his cabinet) in government. To strike at that root, I say, vote them out of office. Vote for candidates who value liberty and encourage others to do the same.