roblr

"—-Honoring (and winning over) the losing side —- What does “majority rule” mean? Suppose..."

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:37:00 -0900

“

—-Honoring (and winning over) the losing side —- What does “majority rule” mean? Suppose your candidate wins by close to a 60/40 vote margin. You can call that a solid victory, in modern political terms. But it still means that four in ten voting citizens did not want your guy in office. To that forty percent, the word “mandate” translates as — drop dead! Might there be some way to acknowledge the losing minority? One that both lessens their sense of humiliation, and making them more willing to accept that the winners really do mean well? Imagine our new President making the following pledge:

“I now ask my honorable opponent in the recent election — Senator McCain — to help pick a panel of Americans who are well-outside my normal political or social circle. In this case, I’d like him to help fill it especially with many varied types of “conservatives.” “This panel will have one power. Except during periods of crisis, they will get control over my appointment calendar one afternoon per month. On that afternoon, I’ll meet with — and listen to — individuals or delegations beyond my regular horizon. In this small way, I hope Americans of all persuasions will feel just a little more sure that I do not live in a tower of ideological isolation, but that I stand ready to hear diverse — even dissenting — points of view.”

Such a pledge would cost Barack Obama little to make or to fulfill. There is no obligation to act on what the delegations say, only to be accessible, listening occasionally to more than one ideology. More than one brain trust of cloned advisors. Indeed, the legitimacy of an administration will be enhanced if we see the president receive articulate, passionate emissaries, representing diverse opinions and walks of life.

(In fact, what better way to contrast his administration vs the Bush-Cheney era?)

”

-
David Brin

"why I want to read or look at something is to be able to have valuable thoughts or conversations in..."

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:58:28 -0900

“why I want to read or look at something is to be able to have valuable thoughts or conversations in tandem with other people.”

- Interview with Clay Shirky, Part II : CJR:

"Whenever you let more people in, things get vulgar by definition. And people who benefited under the..."

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:50:33 -0900

“Whenever you let more people in, things get vulgar by definition. And people who benefited under the old system or who dislike or distrust vulgarity as a process always have room to complain.”

- Interview with Clay Shirky, Part I : CJR:

"I’m thankful I’m almost 40 years old and still want a lightsaber and a speeder bike."

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:45:31 -0900

“I’m thankful I’m almost 40 years old and still want a lightsaber and a speeder bike.”

- AMC - Blogs - SciFi Scanner - A John Scalzi SciFi Thanksgiving

"But emotional intelligence is the path to happiness, and it’s something I conspicuously lack."

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:50:23 -0900

“But emotional intelligence is the path to happiness, and it’s something I conspicuously lack.”

- Matthew Jarpe

"People are experience rich and theory poor. -Malcolm Gladwell"

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:31:25 -0900

“People are experience rich and theory poor.
-Malcolm Gladwell”

- Why Malcolm Gladwell Thinks We Have Little Control Over Our Own Success — New York Magazine

End of an era

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:20:41 -0800

End of an era

i’m not sure why it bothers me. spend the money. it’s not mine. i don’t have it, i...

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:33:30 -0800

i’m not sure why it bothers me. spend the money. it’s not mine. i don’t have it, i don’t access it, it comes to your hand, and gets spent on things that, granted, are “for the family,” but i can stretch that well-worn phrase to cover such things as video games and dinners out at McDonald’s, which you so seldom participate in but have a way of making it known how unhappy you are about it.

you called me to tell me that you bought the dishwasher. thanks. now i know. but don’t expect me to give retro-active opinion or advice. really, the money is yours, and you spent it, and that’s that. just be honest about it. call it what it is. stop saying the money is ours if it’s spent only by one person, no matter how “noble” the item of purchase.

In anchorage. Yay!

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:58:07 -0800

In anchorage. Yay!

"Okay fine, I blame myself. I am not well-read due to sheer laziness. I’ve grown intellectually lazy,..."

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:50:35 -0800

“Okay fine, I blame myself. I am not well-read due to sheer laziness. I’ve grown intellectually lazy, ignorant even. Sure I read lots and lots of blogs and non-fiction, but I know that fiction is important: it is the only way we can climb inside the imagination of another human being, combine it with our own experiences, biases and beliefs, and create something that is simultaneously uniquely individual and shared with everybody else who reads it. We form a deeper understanding of ourselves, others, and humanity through fiction. Sounds hokey perhaps, but I’m totally not shitting you that I believe all of that to be true.”

- Chepooka

"It was lovely. I love few things more than a conversation with an intelligent person who is..."

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:00:05 -0800

“It was lovely. I love few things more than a conversation with an intelligent person who is passionate in their beliefs and willing to disagree with me.”

- http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/blog/2008/08/how-david-anthony-durham-saved-my-life.html

Live at the library

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:00:23 -0800

Live at the library

off to they gym. yay health

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:21:55 -0800

off to they gym. yay health

why ISN’T amateur and indie music valued? our culture of “consumers,” sitting at...

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:49:19 -0800

why ISN’T amateur and indie music valued? our culture of “consumers,” sitting at the table of a few “greats?” Greats = fully commercialized.

jebus, my internet is sucking so HARD right now. and not in a good way. dammit.

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:43:44 -0800

jebus, my internet is sucking so HARD right now. and not in a good way. dammit.

my new favorite word: fauxtopia

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:44:19 -0800

my new favorite word: fauxtopia

off to the laboratory. muhuhahahaha!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:43:12 -0800

off to the laboratory. muhuhahahaha!

Good morning, Anchorage. Why are we up so early?

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:28:47 -0800

Good morning, Anchorage. Why are we up so early?

Back from two days of huge bonfire, pony keg of Fairweather IPA and good friends. w00t!

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:07:46 -0800

Back from two days of huge bonfire, pony keg of Fairweather IPA and good friends. w00t!

signing off for now. off to pack the van, belt the children, strap on the boats. hasta la vista!

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:27:28 -0800

signing off for now. off to pack the van, belt the children, strap on the boats. hasta la vista!