Why I went to Auschwitz

I really enjoyed this: a short, very clear article that made me feel a lot better about the world around me.

The dangers of arbitration contracts

Having known someone who ran into this, I was especially bothered by the recent story of alleged wide-scale sexual harassment issues left unresolved for years.  An increasing number of companies afraid of lengthy and public legal battles use a legal arbitration service that's appears to them an island to dump and ignore problems.

Unfortunately, this problem appears to be on track for even less accountability.

More on this: fairarbitrationnow.org

How to deal with really difficult topics

Samantha Bee of the Daily Show helps us manage when things get tough.

Mechanics hate him!

Drawing from the rationale behind many anti-vaccination proponents, an argument has been crafted against the evils of brakes on cars.

I'm convinced.

Veteran journalist on the news

Very well-written overview of the state of our free press.  I've heard pieces of this but to see it all together really hits home and in a good way.  (Charles Lewis leaves 60 Minutes)

The new lynch mob

This is a terrific example of how a court of law and lawyers is a imperfect but obviously better way to find justice when -- not surprisingly -- social media just can't.  Something to keep in mind if someone ever goes after you in this format.

Abusive Job Interviews

These things exist and they're complete nonsense.  It wasn't yelling as in the article, but I'm happy to now report on the clowns (Qvinci) who "interviewed" me.  I even had the opportunity to work with these guys years later and turned it down because of the sort of ugly, cannibalizing corporate culture I had already seen.

If it happens to you, just walk away.  Remember the No Assholes Rule.

Mos Def goes through force-feeding procedure

I really thought it was intravenous - I had no idea they inserted a tube in your nose and, apart from being humiliating, it's also very painful.

In the scope of bad and worse, I don't want people to die, but it helps make clear that force feeding people is not a reasonable long-term plan for prisoners.  It's the sort of thing that wears away at your humanity and definitely wouldn't build empathy and gentleness in those among us who are most violent and angry.

Disney Princesses vs. Miyazaki

This article puts words to something I've thought about many times: women defined by beauty and a man's love rather than having some kind of external identity.

Beating Brothers Circus

Years ago, I heard that circuses like Ringling Bros were mistreating animals.  Then I recall hearing that they had taken real pains to turn things around and make a big PR push that this just wasn't the case.  And now this.  Obviously at this point I'd rather take my kids to a UFC fight: at least they're out in the open about their violence.

Stop the Yellow Pages

Two years ago after months next to the mail boxes, I finally took stacks of Yellow Pages from my apartment to the recycling place.  That's why this article was interesting as well as hilarious.

Their business model reminds me a bit of when the RIAA demanded all personal audio players include an FM receiver: another dead industry unable to admit they didn't transition effectively and now wasting time, energy, and trees.

You might not live in a democracy if...

A UC Davis Police officer Lt. John Pike pepper sprays a bunch of peaceful protesters.  I love how he looks like he's on a Sunday stroll as he puts a group of people in astonishing pain.  What a bewildering sadist.

Interview with one of the people sprayed.  Evidently the pepper spray is required to be at a minimum of 15 feet, but this looks like he was trying to paint his house.

As I'm nowhere near the situation, I can only sign the petition.  If people like this are given any kind of authority, there is no authority.

Revelations from the Penn State coverup

As sick as I am of hearing about it already, the situation has provided a variety of good things including the notion of a "nice guy" sexual predator who is nobody's friend.  Additionally, in a uniquely unfunny move, Jon Stewart attacks the riots that happened in the wake of the firing.  An outstanding response to a hideous public response indicative of a frequent and terrible institutional response to sexual abuse.  In light of how difficult sexual assault is to prosecute, a little community support would have gone a long way.  Now these kids have to deal with a riot supporting someone who looked the other way.  If their names enter the public record, are they going to get harassed?

Fortunately, RAINN has put together something for people who want to be proud of their college while still supporting the victims.  Good news.

Bullying teachers

Its nice to see a teacher getting at least suspended for bad behavior, but I recall with a surprising amount of bile the teachers who bullied me and my classmates when I was growing up.  Its not as if people walking past couldn't hear Mr. Auwen flipping out and yelling at the kids.  Its not like someone didn't already know the guy was a nutcase.

Having known school teachers, I know there's kids who will report problems just to be anti-authority or because they're angry about something else, but there was an institutional blindness to the whole thing that still very much disturbs me.  I bet someone knew this guy was unstable and didn't say anything.

Thanks for crashing

Recent death of an Indy car driver makes me wonder if that's not something the organizers actively were hoping for.  Although its technically Nascar who has openly encouraged reckless driving, its entirely possible that Indy also felt that push.

Then I wonder if the joke isn't sort of on me: racing is going to be dangerous.  We can solve this whole dying problem if we just make everyone race at 30 mph or below, but who would watch that?  What's the point of high performance automobiles if they don't actually race?  Couldn't we surround the cars with impact-absorbing springs and big pockets of fire retardant?

What are reasonable safety precautions?

End music torture

It sounds like a Creed joke, but unfortunately its very real.

Lessons from the Quran burning fiasco

CNN lists quite a few thinkers, but I was most impressed by Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar.  (His entry is a little more thank halfway down.)

"High Fructose Corn Syrup" now "Corn Sugar"

Although it would be nice if they would fundamentally change the process to something more healthy, backers of the product have solved the problem by just changing the name.  Although the NYTimes article doesn't suggest that HFCS is any worse for you than regular sugar , its a totally dishonest way to ameliorate bad press.  Calling something bad for you by a different name to confuse consumers is dishonest and it will invariably make worse problems of obesity and those at high risk for diabetes.

Note that this hasn't gone through yet with the USDA yet but the article seems optimistic it will.

Owner of Fox News gives Republicans 1 million

Hopefully the last few people who argued that the network is fair or balanced will stop saying it.

Searching for why gay marriage is wrong

Whatever your side on an issue, accepting the status quo is always dangerous.  Ignoring your opposition is myopic and the equivalent of keeping your fingers lodged firmly in your ears while singing.  As such, the search for strong arguments why members of the left should oppose gay marriage has begun.  This is not a static article: it will be updated with better opposition.

The best argument so far is that gay marriage is a political wedge that will always energize the Right against the Left.  It seems if you want to lose elections, just talk about gay marriage.

Other arguments have not been very compelling:

• Voters have consistently voted against it - ("against the will of the people") I have little doubt that if there was a vote to keep slavery legal in the South, that wouldn't make it something you should advocate.  Part of the problem of democracy has always been preventing the majority from bullying the minority.
• Most religious groups opposite it - same problem as above group; many religious groups also favor it.  Even if the majority is in favor of something, that doesn't make it right or wrong.
• Courts should not decide this issue, the people should (source: Brian S. Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage) - counter example: Brown vs. Board of Education; courts decided against discrimination, few on the left thought this was a bad idea then or now.
  
• Marriage is for children - this may have been true 100 years ago but clearly isn't accurate now. 
  
• Bad for families and children - research on this isn't compelling.
  
• Its unnatural - sounds too much like the argument against interracial marriage.
• Slippery slope - people will marry animals or inanimate objects.  This is easily addressed since there's a fallacy named for this.
• Fundamental change to social institutions should happen slowly - the left loves equality and feels changes since the 50s have been for the better.
• Gay people are fundamentally unequal - This is probably the weakest argument given some of the greatest thinkers in history.  A few examples include Da Vinci, Wittgenstein, Francis Bacon, the greatest American poet (Whitman) and a math genius who probably had a lot to do with winning World War II for the Allies (Alan Turing).

Stronger arguments involve attacking bad arguments by the left:

• What is really advocated?  This is a tough one.  Lefty groups should be clear why they do or do not support polygamy, which is not an unthinkable next step.  The focus now is on equality in the eyes of the state, but those advocating for gay marriage are tacitly suggesting a definition of marriage as only between two people while they dismiss a definition that excludes same-sex marriage.  Two women who love the same man may wish for the same equality.  Are there polygamous Leonardo Da Vinci's?  Is one necessary to give group its rights?
• The Left is advocating marriage by disparaging it.  One of the frequent tactics is to point out that if famous morons can get married and divorced at the drop of a hat, Marriage isn't so sacred after all.  This makes for good late-night monologues but is ultimately self-defeating.  Its like arguing that voting is meaningless to avoid giving advocating women's suffrage.
• Anyone who doesn't want gay marriage is a bigot.  If your beliefs do include marriage only as a union between a man and a woman, that does not make you a Nazi.  Bigotry is a "person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices" (source), which is something anyone can be if they don't consider contrasting positions.
• Hospital policies against non-family members during possible end-of-life moments. This is a problem with legal issues / hospital policies.  You should be able to decide you want or don't want at your side when you're dying.  Marriage is connected to this but not the only solution.
• There is enough war and death in the world without telling people they can't love each other.  A meaningless emotional argument, it is similar to the hospital argument in that its both true and obvious, but marriage is not and was never a permission to love.  On the other hand, taken together they represent a legal challenge to a long list of other anti-gay laws that may represent a challenge to one's right to love someone of the same sex.  If the state allows union, it will be forced to contend with many other issues of equality and equal protection.

Note: This article was edited on 9/31/2010 for clarity and adding the "stronger arguments" section and the bit about gays as fundamentally unequal.