Plot Vs Story

A plot is about things that happen.  A story is about people who behave. To admire a story, you must be willing to listen to the people and observe them.

-- Roger Ebert (18 June 1942 - 4 April 2013), American Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, review of "House of Sand and Fog", 26 December 2003

Hero?

I believe that history will hail Snowden as a hero -- his whistleblowing exposed a surveillance state and a secrecy machine run amok.  I'm less optimistic of how the present day will treat him, and hope that the debate right now is less about the man and more about the government he exposed.

-- Bruce Schneier, schneier.com, 11 June 2013

Irreversibly Interdependent

We must abandon the unworkable notion that it is morally reprehensible for some countries to pursue weapons of mass destruction yet morally  acceptable for others to rely on them for security -- and indeed to continue to refine their capacities and postulate plans for their use.

Similarly, we must abandon the traditional approach of defining security in terms of boundaries -- city walls, border patrols, racial and religious groupings.  The global community has become irreversibly interdependent, with the constant movement of people, ideas, goods and resources.  In such a world, we must combat terrorism with an infectious security culture that crosses borders -- an inclusive approach to security based on solidarity and the value of human life.  In such a world, weapons of mass destruction have no place.

-- Mohamed El Baradei (17 June 1942-), Egyptian diplomat, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, New York Times Op-Ed Saving Ourselves From Self-Destruction" (12 February 2004)

Zip Code Day

Today is Zip Code Day in Bement, IL -- zip code 61813, 6/18/13.

Need To Share

In past years someone like Snowden may not have had access to briefings detailing these collection programs, but now with the push from a "need to know" to a "need to share" philosophy, it's far more likely for an IT contractor like him to gain access to such documents.

-- Former NSA Deputy Directory Cedric Leighton, on Edward Joseph Snowden, a computer technician who said he leaked secrets about surveillance programs, New York Times, 10 June 2013

Not An Act Of Invention

Myriad did not create anything.  To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention.

-- Justice Clarence Thomas, in the unanimous Supreme Court decision barring the patenting of human genes, 13 June 2013

Fits Very Well

There are only so many missile systems and Apache attack helicopters you can sell.  This push toward border security fits very well with the need to create an ongoing stream of revenue.

-- Dennis L. Hoffman, of Arizona State University, on a shift by military contractors toward projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, New York Times, 7 June 2013

Royal Inspection

The proud men who wrote the charter of our liberties would not have been so eager to open their mouths for royal inspection.

-- Justice Antonin Scalia, in his dissent from the Supreme Court's ruling that the police may take DNA samples from people arrested in connection with serious crimes, New York Times, 4 June 2013

Only One Smile

If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love.  Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning "Good morning" at total strangers.

-- Maya Angelou (1928-), African-American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, Chapter 5 (1976)

For over the last decade, our nation has spent well over a trillion dollars on war, exploding our deficits and constraining our ability to nation build here at home.  Our service-members and their families have sacrificed far more on our behalf.  Nearly 7,000 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice.  Many more have left a part of themselves on the battlefield, or brought the shadows of battle back home.  From our use of drones to the detention of terrorist suspects, the decisions we are making will define the type of nation -- and world -- that we leave to our children.

So America is at a crossroads.  We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us, mindful of James Madison's warning that "No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare." Neither I, nor any President, can promise the total defeat of terror.  We will never erase the evil that lies in the hearts of some human beings, nor stamp out every danger to our open society.  What we can do -- what we must do -- is dismantle networks that pose a direct danger, and make it less likely for new groups to gain a foothold, all while maintaining the freedoms and ideals that we defend.

-- Barack Obama, in a speech at National Defense University, 23 May 2013

BSA Resolution

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The following membership standard for youth members of the Boy Scouts of America is hereby adopted and approved, effective Jan. 1, 2014:

Youth membership in the Boy Scouts of America is open to all youth who  meet the specificmembership requirements to join the Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, Sea Scout, and Venturing programs.  Membership in any program of the Boy Scouts of America requires the youth member to (a) subscribe to and abide by the values expressed in the Scout Oath and Scout Law, (b) subscribe to and abide by the precepts of the Declaration of Religious Principle (duty toGod), and (c) demonstrate behavior that exemplifies the highest level of good conduct and respect for others and is consistent at all times with the values expressed in the Scout Oath and Scout Law.  No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.

-- Resolution of the Boy Scouts of America, adopted 23 May 2013

SGS4

Samsung Galaxy S4 trvth

What Is All This?

The basic drive behind real philosophy is curiosity about the world, not interest in the writings of philosophers.  Each of us emerges from the preconsciousness of babyhood and simply finds himself here, in it, in the world.  That experience alone astonishes some people.  What is all this -- what is the world?  And what are we?  From the beginning of humanity some have been under a compulsion to ask these questions, and have felt a craving for the answers.  This is what is really meant by any such phrase as "mankind's need for metaphysics."

-- Bryan Magee (1930-), British politician, broadcaster, and author, Confessions of a Philosopher: A Journey Through Western Philosophy (1997), p. 232

Jogger Vs. Runner

The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank.

-- George Sheehan (1918-1993), American author, physician, and runner





[My first 5K time was 25:43]

This Is Not A Contract

It's up to you whether or not you want to do work with no contract.  I think artists do need to do work with no contract, because what we're motivated by is not money.  We're motivated by a need to express ourselves and to get our ideas out.  That's the motivation.  It turns out that when people like it they frequently will support you if you give them a means, but this is not a contract.

-- Nina Paley (3 May 1968-), American cartoonist, animator, and free culture activist, Youtube video "Copying Is Not Theft: Against Copyright Tyranny", 25 March 2011

Best Means

It is only when the People become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty.  Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found.  The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin.  Let us, by all wise and constitutional measures, promote intelligence among the People, as the best means of preserving our liberties.

-- James Monroe (1758 - 1831), fifth President of the United States, author of the Monroe Doctrine, first Inaugural Address, 4 March 1817

Dead Giveaway

Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms.  Something is wrong here.  Dead giveaway.

-- Charles Ramsey of Cleveland, in an interview after rescuing 3 kidnapped women including Amanda Berry, 6 May 2013

Statistics Show

Birthdays are good for you.  Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.

-- Father Larry Lorenzoni, Salesian priest and author

Raising My Hand

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport.  But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

-- Jason Collins, a 12-year N.B.A. veteran, announcing that he is gay, Sport Illustrated On-line, 29 April 2013

Not Being Charged

There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where not being charged with a war crime keeps you locked away indefinitely and a war crime conviction is your ticket home.

-- Morris Davis, retired USAF Colonel, former Chief Prosecutor for the terrorism trials at Guantanamo Bay, 29 April 2013