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[via Mike Davidson]

This clip is great in that it shows the difference between a blowhard and a pundit. You don’t have to agree with Chris Matthews to see that Kevin James has no idea what he is talking about. He’s spouting off about appeasement and Neville Chamberlain with no idea what Chamberlain did, right or wrong, before World War II. James makes Mark Green look like a genius by virtue of his ignorance and refusal to shut up when called out on his ignorance.

As a society I think we can do better in our political discourse than this kind of shouting over each other to cover up ignorance. If you don’t know about something, just stop and ask or look it up before pressing your side. Hell, you might even change your views based on actually possessing a knowledge of history. I often enjoy talks with my Dad about these sorts of topics precisely because of his knowledge of history and ability to point out subtleties I might have missed. We had a great talk over the weekend about the differences between Communists in China, Cuba, Russia, and other nations and why those differences can lead to being trading partners with one country while having an embargo against another (though I still say this Cuba embargo has failed for far too long). We don’t always agree, I place more weight on civil liberties as a protective measure against tyranny, while he favors security through a strong military and intelligence presence and will sacrifice some civil liberties to fight terrorism (perhaps our ages and his experience in the Air Force help explain those differences). We share a healthy skepticism of governments in general.

Going into any argument armed only with buzzwords is a great way to look the fool. James is a great example of this, sometimes you can learn something and come out looking better if you just shut up and listen for minute, even to your opponent… wait, I think that’s what James was arguing against, perhaps he defeated himself in this one. Oops.

[via BoingBoing]

Preaching to the choir is easy, they are already on your side and ready to sing your praises. Preaching to people who disagree with you is much harder. Sometimes you need to take a different approach than the one that convinced you. You need to look at how the person you are talking to approaches decisions and the framework they have for passing judgment on the world around them (that judge not stuff is overblown and frequently misinterpreted, a person sans judgment is a helpless, mindless waste, unable to choose what to eat for breakfast). Each of us uses a framework of heuristics and a moral and ethical code to pass judgment on the ideas we encounter all day long. By understanding the framework another person is using we can frame our arguments in such a way that they may exploit that framework to help that person reach the desired conclusion. This is not about manipulation, but about finding a common ground to aid communication and the exchange of ideas.
Continue reading Preaching Outside the Choir

There are a couple of videos shooting around the interweb lately that I’d like to share. I enjoyed watching them, hope you will too.

In my last post I linked to Lawrence Lessig talking about Obama. Now there is a special election in Lessig’s California Congressional district and he is considering running. He discusses this in the following video:

I’d love to see him run and if you look at his body of work and think he could make a difference too please consider visiting www.lessig08.org and encouraging him to run. I may not agree with him on every issue, and you may not either, but he is a bright, ethical, and rational individual who will fight effectively to end corruption and secrecy in government and to apply science and reason to governance. He would be a refreshing change on Capitol Hill.

Disclaimer: This post reflects my personal opinions of the day (Brad may disagree) and they are subject to change as more information becomes available. We do what we can with what we have. I hope that you’ll agree that honest people can differ on who to support and why and still respect each other in the morning.

Lawrence Lessig has created a 20 minute video about his support for Barack Obama. I’m impressed with Lessig in general - he has spent years working to improve the state of intellectual property rights and recently has decided to tackle transparency and corruption in government. I respect and listen critically to anything he takes the time to say.

Continue reading Lawrence Lessig on Obama

We’re glad to say that people are really enjoying BoomVote. They’ve been giving away piles of cash and prizes since the site launched. We’ve also added some great features like the Battle Mode - the winner gets both votes and are working on more. Anyhow, if you haven’t signed up yet you’re missing out. It’s a great time waster and you’ve got a great shot at winning some extra pizza money or free gear.

www.BoomVote.com

I know the Day the Music Died was marked by a plane crash, but today was a day that music was reborn for me. I’ve been a bit down on new music of late, with nothing really resonating with me. Perhaps it just means I’m getting old and set in my ways. Regardless, I’m really excited to discover that the spirit of the Push Kings lives on. Everybody Else appears to be carrying on with Carrick Moore Gerety at the helm turning out pop hits that make me want to roll down the windows on this first really nice day of the year and sing along while I drive (yeah, I know I never leave the house but that’s for another day). I’m really excited for when their full album hits the stores next month. It’s actually the first album I’ve looked forward to in a couple of years.

Carrick’s brother Finn is leading Finian McKean, which appears to be rather less fun, free spirited rock than Everybody Else. Ah, well one for two isn’t bad and I’m really glad to hear that the ridiculously catchy spirit of the Push Kings lives on. If you have the chance pick up everything the Push Kings ever did and keep an eye out for Everybody Else’s new album.

(via Boing Boing)

I thought this really excellently highlighted the absurdity of the official response to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force (ATHF) ads in Boston. The people in that city should be scared, not of the light bright ads, but of the people in charge of protecting them.

Jesus was a carpenter. He built things out of wood before he got into the whole Son of God / Prophet / Messiah thing. He was known for being relaxed and groovy and exceptionally forgiving and fault tolerant. If the Church is to believed he befriended Mary Magdalene despite her being a whore, if the Da Vinci Code is to be believed he married her. I imagine that when he built a staircase he built it to work even when someone jumped up and down on it, slid down it on a rug, stacked scrolls on it, or used it in some way other than walking up and down the middle of it. He built it to be resilient. I bet that staircase wouldn’t completely collapse even if one of the steps cracked a little. Of course, that’s how it should be.

Tim Berners-Lee and his contemporaries took some lessons from Jesus when they designed the system for the Internet. Like Jesus’ staircase the Internet is forgiving and fault tolerant. It doesn’t shut down when used in new or unexpected ways. Bits of data are regularly lost when sent somewhere yet your email to Grandma arrives complete because the system is designed to be fault tolerant and survive errors. The Internet and World Wide Web are one of the coolest, most world changing technologies ever. Web technologies work and have spread and grown in popularity because they are forgiving and fault tolerant.
Continue reading What Would Jesus Build?