“Israelis, unlike Canadians and Americans, don’t take s— from anybody. When the security agency in Israel (the ISA) started to tighten security and we had to wait in line for — not for hours — but 30 or 40 minutes, all hell broke loose here. We said, ‘We’re not going to do this. You’re going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport.”

[From The 'Israelification' of airports: High security, little bother - thestar.com]

Via Daring Fireball

Give us your ideas on how we can:

Work better with others inside & outside the government
Solicit feedback from the public
Improve the availability & quality of information
Be more innovative & efficient
Create EPA’s Open Government Plan

Transparency and the willingness of government agencies to actively solicit public opinion only works if we are paying attention. So if you have an idea, or even if you don’t, head over to the website and participate in the discussion because the only way for the We, the People to participate in our governance is to participate.

h/t BoingBoing

Until now.

Not that I necessarily will emigrate. Not that there is necessarily any other nation that is not, on some fundamental level, fucked up in one way or another. But here’s the thing: I don’t want to spend my life fighting for a number of basic rights that many other countries have seen fit to offer their citizens. Like access to health care. Like not visiting war and torture upon the world. Like not locking up a significant portion of its population while denying money to social services.

Don’t get me wrong, I would rather have the Democrats in office over the Republicans any day. Despite what some might say, there are significant differences between the two parties. But even during the dark days of George W. Bush’s presidency, I could pretend to myself that, after eight years, the Democrats would bring a level of sanity and integrity back to our government.

I know, I know, it was a naive notion.

The point isn’t really about which party is better for the country, it’s that both parties seem unable to create sane policy that actually helps people. Now that the Supreme Court has determined that corporations, as persons, can donate to candidates (but of course can’t be held morally, ethically, or legally culpable for the murders they might commit), the fight for progressive causes and justice in this country will become even more difficult and slow. Yes, the United States is worth the fight. Yes, justice and progress are always created out of the hard work and dedication of people fighting for the future against the dead ideals of the past. I just don’t know how much I want to fight for certain things that are offered in other places.

I would rather have access to good health care than the freedom to own a gun.

I would rather have a relatively stagnant economy that puts workers and people before ravenous profit.

I would rather live somewhere that did not torture.

Again I say that I would rather live somewhere that did not torture.

So . . . what do these thoughts signify? Nothing really. At the moment, I’m not going to leave the U.S. and I’m still trying to figure out what I can do to help further a variety of progressive causes. But I feel very pessimistic about some important social policies in this nation and, well, I just think that it’s interesting that I’ve never before thought of living in another country until now, when the Democrats control the House, the Senate, and the White House.

[Cross-posted on Daily Kos]

Dear President Obama,

Do you really want to be the new “war president”? If you go to West Point tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than withdrawing, the troops in Afghanistan, you are the new war president. Pure and simple. And with that you will do the worst possible thing you could do — destroy the hopes and dreams so many millions have placed in you. With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics. You will teach them what they’ve always heard is true — that all politicians are alike. I simply can’t believe you’re about to do what they say you are going to do. Please say it isn’t so.

and:

Your potential decision to expand the war (while saying that you’re doing it so you can “end the war”) will do more to set your legacy in stone than any of the great things you’ve said and done in your first year. One more throwing a bone from you to the Republicans and the coalition of the hopeful and the hopeless may be gone — and this nation will be back in the hands of the haters quicker than you can shout “tea bag!”

I echo Mr. Moore’s call for the President to end our war in Afghanistan, to end our support of a corrupt government, to end throwing away the lives of our soldiers on the shoals of a country that has broken empire after empire after empire. Please, President Obama, do not show us that change is a futile hope by giving us more of the same.

Granted, there are a lot of issues over which people will dig themselves down into a trench and refuse to budge, but if we begin with the assumption that communication, facts, or a deeper understanding of the world are entirely useless when it comes to human discourse, then we have, in a sense, given up before we’ve even begun. This isn’t to say that getting into heated debates with people who disagree with your beliefs should be pursued at the dinner party or the office lunch. Of course they shouldn’t. There are appropriate times and appropriate places for intelligent conversations about our world. But I have to believe that changing someone’s mind is never impossible. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No. Or at least not if the dialogue is conducted in good faith and both parties are willing to really and truly listen to the other’s facts, arguments, and ideas.

And therein lies the difficulty, because most people (too often myself included) are not willing to truly listen to ideas that are divergent from their own perceptions of the world. Of course, compounding this problem is the fact that many people don’t argue their beliefs in good faith or with a desire to enable communication and change. Yelling that Obama is a Kenyan born Nazi is not arguing in good faith (primarily due to the fact that there are, well, no facts to be found in their arguments).

I would like to believe that if faced with a compelling argument, backed by logic and factual evidence, I am willing to change my mind about issues and ideas and politics. Yes, I have my own emotional biases about how the world works, about what is fair and what is important. Yes, I am ideologically slanted toward a politics of fairness and equality and believe that government should play an active role in leveling the playing field for all its citizens. So I tend to vote Democrat and self-identify as progressive. If you come at me from a conservative viewpoint, I will naturally become wary and defensive and believe that I know better than you. Which, is most likely the same emotional state you will be in at the time.

However, if we can talk about facts and use reason in our discourse and if you extend respect to my viewpoint, I will do the same—or at least try, since we are none of us perfect. We can have productive conversations about differing political views only if we start from a position of respect and a willingness to listen. Sure, that doesn’t happen all that much these days, and sure, many in the media love the fact that our political discourse has become an ongoing episode of the Jerry Springer show, but it’s not impossible.

Because if it really were impossible to change our minds, to allow compelling arguments and new understands to change our view of the world, then we could never learn and change and grow.

The flip side to the notion of changeability, is that if someone is not willing to argue in good faith, or truly listen to you, or bother to respect your viewpoint, then don’t waste your time arguing with them because those are indeed the people whose minds you will never change.

The question we all have to ask ourselves each time we engage in a dialogue about firmly held beliefs is this: can I truly respect this person and can I truly listen to their argument. If the answer is no, that doesn’t make you a bad person. I have no respect for a Birther or a Flat-Earther and so getting into a dialogue with someone who holds those beliefs would be, at best, futile and frustrating for both sides. Being on opposite sides of a political issue is not what makes us enemies of one another. Rather, it is our actions and behaviors toward one another that will lead us to either civil disagreements (what we should all strive for) or outright war against each other (what Fox News and other “conservative” mouthpieces are promulgating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

And one does have to wonder why so many people seem so invested in making the citizens of the United States of America into enemies of each other . . .

(Cross posted at Daily Kos)

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account has been closed as of June 29, 2009. This is a direct result of the unconstitutional tax collection scheme passed by the Rhode Island General Assembly with a veto-proof majority. As a result, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com after June 29. We were forced to take this unfortunate action in anticipation of actual enactment because of uncertainties surrounding the legislation’s effective date. The governor could sign the bill — or have his veto overridden — any day now.

Please be assured that all qualifying referral fees earned prior to June 29, 2009 will be processed and paid in full in accordance with our regular referral fee schedule. Based on your account closure date of June 29, 2009, any final payments will be paid by September 1, 2009.

In the event that Rhode Island repeals this tax collection scheme, we would certainly be happy to re-open our Associates program to Rhode Island residents.

The Rhode Island General Assembly’s website is http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/, the governor’s website is http://www.governor.ri.gov/, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/.

We have enjoyed working with you and other Rhode Island-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.

Best Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

I made a couple of bucks off of my Amazon Associate’s account, nothing substantial at all. But those few dollars were a nice extra and would occasionally let me get a cd or a book. In a state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, our government officials are seemingly bent on figuring new and different ways to screw over RI residence.

Good going there, Gentleman and Ladies. I appreciate just how much you are “working” for the people of this state.

Eighteen thousand mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, dying preventable deaths because insurance was too expensive or flat-out unavailable. (Link)

Oh, and please, Mr. Capitalism-And-Profit-Above-All-Else, please reconcile for me your devotion to profit with your so-called Christianity and supposed devotion to Christ.

k thx bai

the Employee Free Choice Act does not eliminate any method by which workers can elect to join a union. The two current forms — majority sign-up and scheduled NLRB election — will continue to exist. The Employee Free Choice Act simply gives workers, rather than employers, the choice which to use. (From Daily Kos: “Secret Ballot”? Or Opportunity for Intimidation?)

Of course, Jackson Lewis, the company that is all about strategies for preventing unionization (because that’s worked out so darn well for us here in America hasn’t it), has a big banner add on their site saying that the EFCA would prevent secret ballots, when the EFCA would not prevent secret ballots damn it and would, instead, let the employees make their own choice as to how they go about voting on unionization.

Labor law in this country has been gutted over the last several decades and look at where it’s gotten us as a nation. We need stronger unions not weaker ones if we want to become a country that is built around the notion of fair pay for honest work instead of a country enamored with the quick fix and the easy buck. Our companies need to pay living wages and take care of their employees if we want to create a better life for the next generation. The EFCA won’t fix everything that is wrong with labor, but it will offer employee’s more opportunity to organize and choose for themselves.

If you would like to contact Jackson Lewis and ask why they are lying to people about the EFCA, you can email them at efcainfo@jacksonlewis.com or call them at 1.866.300.5805