The Negative Entropy Reverse Distribution Society™
from 01/29/02001 to 07/25/01999
A Forum of FreshSpace™
The letter written by Stanley Kubrick to the New York Times in 1994 asks, "But what if a potential enemy detonated a suitcase-nuclear-bomb in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration day killing every one who had authority to unlock the weapons? " Well, it was probably Ollie North who answered that question and devised a plan of action. Simply, do not put everyone who can "unlock" your weapons at the inauguration ceremony! If that, somehow, cannot be achieved, Military Commanders from DoD would "elect" themselves and take over. You must ask, what percentage of the Command Structure must be wiped out? My guestimate is that this would have to be near 100%, and I'd rather not imagine scenarios which the perfidy of others could somehow make happen. Furthermore, such a scenario, if possible, may prevent these missiles from being fired, but in skilled hands it has not rendered them any less capable of unleashing massive devastation. Indeed, it might leave them exactly where an enemy might want them. Only the Fools Survive
I don't think the concern is that a nukecase bomb could render us without an absurdly obscene response. I think the concern is that such a nukecase event is even possible in the first place. But then, I am probably not considered to be a "military asset". Truth is, however, we are all "military assets". If somehow our military should fall, we are the last line of defense in Homeland Security. Obviously, the goal is to never let it come to that.
Therefore, the best way of preventing any of these "doomsday scenarios" from happening is to change the conditions in which they could happen. Just as wealthier people statistically have less kids than poor people, the solution to over-population is to have less poor people. Similarly, if we want to have less terrorists in the world, and perhaps consequentially less extreme fundamentalists - those who are willing to die for their causes and beliefs - we need to have a world where people are more willing to live for their causes and beliefs. The fastest, easiest way to do this is to help them invest in their future.
A Palestinian state 20-30 years ago - perhaps even today if it is not too late - would do wonders toward providing a fertile ground necessary to grow people more willing to live for their causes than die for them.
When you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose. Terrorists feel they have nothing left to lose. Therefore, ending terrorism means creating an environment in which people do not feel they have nothing left to lose. This starts with education: Math, Science, Art, Literature and Music. A well rounded education is the soil upon which the weeds of terrorism will not grow, upon which, instead, the fruits of the garden will grow!
Some might raise the objection that this seemingly neglects those who might become terrorists to protect their way of life, who feel that they do have something to lose. For instance in Northern Ireland, Israel, Tibet, and many other places around the world, where people are struggling to hold onto their cultural identities. Some will in fact seek to destroy others if they cannot preserve their way of life - a selfish, "if I can't have, no one else will" mentality.
This, then, is a war of memes and it will be the most effective memes which survive. I would like to think that the meme which says "we gain the most by preserving culture rather than destroying it" has the greatest chance of surviving; I would like to think that the meme which says "die for your causes and you will reap eternal rewards in heaven" has the least chance of surviving.
But perhaps I am just excelling in my virtue of being foolish...
Reverse Distribution
Quality Squared
“Think of it. We are blessed with technology that would be indescribable to our forefathers. We have the wherewithal, the know-it-all to feed everybody, clothe everybody, and give every human on Earth a chance. We know now what we could never have known before-that we now have the option for all humanity to "make it" successfully on this planet in this lifetime. Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment.”
- Buckminster Fuller 1980©Copyright 01/29/02001 Dug Fresh
In the past, the fundamental conflict has been between the haves and the have-nots. However, Impecable Arguments have shown that this conflict has been based upon a faulty and unworkable premise. The facts of the matter are quite the opposite. There is an abundance, a tremendous surplus that is available to everyone. It's just not being distributed to everyone. It is being hoarded, to everyones loss, by the haves.Reverse Distribution is a solution to this problem. It starts with the fundamental premise that by Reverse Distribution we can have a Civilization that distinguishes itself not by haves and havenots but by haves and havemores. However, what needs to be made clear to the havemores is that they can only be havemores if there are no more havenots.
That is to say, it must be made clear to everyone that synergy, or negentropy, is a fundamental component of the universe. 1+1=3. More is different. People need to understand that it is only by Reverse Distribution that the havemores can be havemores in the first place. It has been by perpetuating a false and out-moded dichotomy between haves and havenots that history has been made filled with violence and bloodshed. This has been to the greatest detriment of everyone.
But when there are no more havenots, everyone benefits. What's more, when everyone benefits, everyone benefits synergetically. That is, as the standard of living improves for the poorest of the poor, this can only in the long run benefit the richest of the rich. This occurs in ways that simply cannot be predicted through reductionist modalities. More is different.
However, when the standard of living does not improve for the poorest of the poor, then this can only in the long run hurt the richest of the rich. Unfortunately, it seems very difficult to get them to realize this. The haves spend all their time having and trying to hold onto what they have that they fail to see how they could possibly have more by giving some of it away. But think about it, if you as an individual spend for example 10 million a year but you make 100 million, then that 90 million is going to waste. That 90 million perpetuates starvation and poverty and a world where there are haves and have nots. This can only threaten the long term security and prosperity of the haves. But lets say instead, that of the 90 million remaining, 10 million is re-invested in the future. Let us take that surplus and end poverty. Let us take that surplus and fund education, health care programs, the arts and sciences. This can only promote long term security and prosperity, not just for the haves but for everyone. When enough people finally realize this simple common sense: that we all stand to gain more together as a whole than a few of us could ever hope to attain as a collection of conflicting parts, mankind will at last be able to make the transition from a Type Zero Planetary Civilization to a Type One Interplanetary Civilation. Helping others help others, helps everyone. When everyone can see that, we shall at long last return to the stars from which we came.
Taking The War To Space
From Star Wars To Star Trek
©Copyright 01/25/02001 Dug Fresh
There is all this concern out there for Star Wars: that it will somehow initiate a new Arms Race, a war that will be fought in space. But, what is wrong with that? Fighting our wars in space sounds like a mighty good idea. Lets get war off the planet altogether. You want to fight? Do it in space.In the past, much of the developments of today were funded by the military. The Internet sprang out of ARPA (also check out An Atlas of Cyberspaces for more information); the History of Computers cannot be easily divorced from the History of Information Warfare. In much the same way, taking the war into space seems a rather logical solution to our rather illogical species. By this, we will be able to develop technologies that will further aid us in our eventual migration off planet Earth. This is something we need to think about because part of humanity's future is tied to its continued growth and growth is limited for any Planetary Species.
Thus, ironically, Star Wars may be humanity's best hope towards its development into an Interplanetary Species. It doesn't purport to solve humanity's problems, it simply seeks to re-direct them into an arena which is away from the planet. This has the potential to be good for the planet.
It is the philosophy of the NERD Society that whatever works to get humanity off the planet is good for Earth. In this respect the NERD Society has come to the conclusion that there are only two ways to get humanity off planet Earth: either through Extinction or through Space Migration. Given that these are the only two choices it should seem obvious that the only creative choice is Space Migration.
Towards that end, the NERD Society is dedicated to the sane and sensible migration of humanity off planet Earth. The goal is the continued evolution of mankind into an Interstellar Species, a Type One Interplanetary Civilization. Right now we are Type Zero. Will we make it to one?
The Apollo Space Program was our first tentative steps in that direction. However, while nobody really wants war, Star Wars has the potential towards accelerating our continued movement towards a Type One Civilization. As this continues, war will continue to become increasingly virtual as well. Perhaps in the future, war will have become so abstract that it will no longer take life. That would be a wonderful accomplishment.
Part of the goal of getting war off the planet will require solving many of the problems which result in war on the planet to begin with. The most immediate problem is Poverty and Hunger.
Mankind has the ability to end hunger now. This is a goal that can and in fact is being accomplished now. There are many ways you can get involved.
However, solving Poverty is congruent not just with solving hunger but also with solving the energy problem as well. California is a prime example of the Energy Crunch. What is needed is a breakthough. Recent developments with Hydrogen have shown that the breakthrough is already here. This Technology is vital to humanity's continued evolution. What is needed now is strong leadership to move in that direction. Unfortunately, it seems highly dubious that anything of this sort is likely with Bush.
It is the point of view of the NERD Society that, Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the Universe, which in many ways is the Father of all Things, should quite naturally be the fuel of choice for the 21st century. Furthermore, the NERD Society does not believe that we have the luxury of waiting for strong leadership for us to move in that direction. Reliance on oil has been like a cancer, holding humanity down, threatening it's extinction. It should be clear, the biggest difference between a Type Zero and a Type One Civilization is it's fuel source. A Type Zero Civilization continues to use Oil and Gas where as a Type One Civilization has made the transition to Hydrogen. Indeed, if future historians were to look back and pin point one element in the successful transition of humanity from a Planetrary to an Interplanetary Species, it would be Hydrogen.
That, and maybe Star Wars.
Fuzzy Future
"Expectations are that we can't get together and get things done. Our goal is to exceed those expectations."
George W. Bush©Copyright 12/14/02000 Dug Fresh
Fuzzy Election, Fuzzy Count, Fuzzy Appeal, Fuzzy Trial, Fuzzy Verdict. Fuzzy President. What kind of victory has George W. Bush and the GOP won for themselves in this election? A Fuzzy Victory, obviously. What's worse, George W. Bush has cast a dark cloud over the Honor and Integrity of our Nation's Highest Office, not to mention our Nation's Highest Courts, as well. He has done so by doing everything in his power to prevent the will of the people from being known. He has Representative of New York, John Sweeney to thank. It was Sweeney who got on his cell-phone and ordered the rent-a-riot at the County Elections Offices to move in and "shut it down" .This effectively prevented some 10,000 votes from being hand recounted in Miami-Dade. Is it not perfectly clear that the GOP sought to tear down everyone and everything in their pathologically partisan push to put Bush in the White House? Has this not been a Coup? Has the will of the people not been usurped? Isn't that a very frightening prospect all by itself? Shouldn't we feel very concerned about this dire turn of events?Nah.(see backpeddle)
On the Contrary. We should feel relieved. Gore was so serious. We're going to have a lot of fun with Bush. He's going to put a smile back in our lives (if his private deathsquads don't get to us first). Not since Ford have we had a President we could laugh at like we are going to laugh at Bush. We will laugh if they hide him. Haha, the Unseen President. We will laugh if they bring him out. Haha he doesn't even know Social Security is a Federal Program! Does he know that our Global Reliance on Fossil Fuels is destroying our Planet? Does he know that Oil is a Fossil Fuel?
Sure we'll laugh and enjoy these next four years. It will all be very low brow. A Rodeo. That is, if the Dubious Dubya can stay in the saddle that long. Hee Haw.
It will be like a long silent breath waiting to exhale. But then, in four years, it will be Pay Back Time.
That's when we elect Mickey Mouse instead of Dumbo.
Democracy on the Edge
©Copyright 12/12/02000 Fresh Ink
When seeking to attain objectivity, in the face of opposing viewpoints, ask yourself, if the sitation were reversed, would your decision be the same?For example, if the situation before the United States Supreme Court were reversed, and it was Gore, not Bush, arguing the exact same case, would you rule differently, if you were a Supreme Court Judge?
If you were JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA or CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST, for example, would you not be OUTRAGED at the Unmitigated Audacity of Al Gore for having dared to besmirch the Sanctity and Rule of Law of the Florida Supreme Court with such a spurious and hypocritical appeal? If this were Gore, instead of Bush, would you not be furious? But the real question is, would you still rule the same?
For if the answer is no, if you would rule differently, and if you were a US Supreme Court Judge, then, if that were not a precendent, it would still be a most dangerous and serious offense. It would undermine the very foundation upon which the Court had been presupposed to have been built. For, if the Law is shown not to be administered fairly, then this would reveal a hypocrisy from which no Court could soon recover. It is very simple as to why this is so, the Rule of Law exists because the Court says, without the Rule of Law, there can be no Court. But if you cannot Trust the Rule of Law to be Objective, there can be no Rule of Law. There can only be Anarchy.
Sure it might hurt a Scalia or a Rehnquist to rule against a Republican but if they truly valued Justice and the ideal upon which the Rule of Law and the Supreme Court was founded, then they would rule as they would if the situation were reversed. If they would have shown extreme prejudice to Gore for daring to appeal the Florida Supreme Court's Decision, then they shouls show extreme prejudice to Bush as well.
This is why Justice is a Double-Edged Sword, for if it is not even and fair, if it is not just, if it does not uphold the Law, then it cuts its wielder as well. This is both a powerful image and a powerful truth as well. Anyone who professes to sit in judgement would do well to remember that Jesus said, "Judge not lest ye be judged" and "let him who is without sin cast the first stone."
If you cannot be objective then your justice is a sham. If you cannot rule without bias, then you cannot administer justice. It is just that simple. Sometimes we forget that Truth is simple and that, by extension, since Law is an expression of Truth, it should at least strive to be simple as well.
If you were a Scalia or a Rehnquist, you would be in the terrible position of having to at least appear to be invalidatng everything to which your High Office upholds to be true, if you were to appear to rule in favor of Partisanship and Bias. Such a ruling could well threaten to destroy the very Union upon which this Country was forged over 200 Years Ago!
The Truth is simple. In a Democracy you count the votes. If there are votes to be counted and they are not counted, that undermines the entire election! If you rule against counting votes you rule against Democracy and you rule against yourself as well. This is why objectivity is always of greater value than partisanship and bias, Justice is a Double-Edged Sword. If Justice is not administered equally, there will be unrest until there is Justice.
Thus, is Justice synonymous with Peace.
Antidisenfranchisementarianism
"We must all hear the universal call to like your neighbor just like you like to be liked yourself."
George W. Bush, as quoted in the Financial Times, Jan. 14, 2000©Copyright 12/07/02000 Fresh Ink
Q:Why did Republican Operatives add Voter Identification Numbers to over 5,000 Ballots in Seminole County, Florida?A: These votes had been disqualified and they would not have counted otherwise.
This means that by altering these ballots, the Republican Party was able to have votes counted which otherwise would not have been. The same opportunity was not given to the Democratic Party. This had the cumulative effect of changing the outcome of the election and "disenfranchising" not the rights of the voter whose vote was disqualified, but the rights of a majority of the American People who lawfully cast their votes for Gore.
If what the GOP did in Seminole and Martin Counties was not illegal then why did they do it at all? Or, if what they did would not have made valid a ballot already disqualified, then there would have been no need to alter these ballots in the first place! If it was only a minor technicality these ballots would not have been disqualified. But the fact remains that, under the laws in place at the time of the election they were disqualified. It was only through altering these ballots, after the fact, that they were made to appear valid at all. Otherwise, they would not have been counted.
Therefore, as it is evident that these alterations allowed ballots to be counted that had already been disqualified, and, as the difference in the number of votes between the two candidates is between 537-930, depending on who you believe, this had the effect of changing the outcome of the election. That is, since the number of disputed votes in Seminole County alone is about 5,000 votes, this means that Gore would have won Florida by over 3,500 votes at least!
Thus, it is not the voters whose invalid votes were made valid who are being "disenfranchised" but the majority of people in this country who voted legally. Why then do we only hear of "disenfranchisement" from the Republican Party? Why are the Republicans "disenfranchised" by not allowing votes count that were illegally altered but the Democrats are not "disenfranchised" by all the other votes thrown out in Florida that would have been for Gore? How can every vote count in Seminole County but not in Miami-Dade County? How can this shameful farce continue?
There is only one solution to the Hell this election has brought upon America, Campaign Finance Reform. If this election mess is not proof enough, then we do not know what is.
Mob Rules
Republican Outcry Reaches New Shrill ©Copyright 11/26/02000 Fresh Ink
Before we go any further, let us first dispel any intimations of partisanship concerning what has become the Election From Hell. We voted for Ralph Nader. Thus, in regards to the entire Florida Fiasco, we would feel the same way if Gore was ahead by 940 votes and Bush was asking for a recount. In a close race, it is clearly the sane and sensible thing to do. Furthermore, we find it very offensive that partisanship cards have been played in what is obviously not a partisanship issue. How does all this noise and media circus fit into Bush's Campaign Pledge of not bringing bickering and partisanship back to the White House?There are greater issues here than who gets to be elected President. The real issue is, if votes don't matter now, how are they ever going to matter in the future? It is important to realize that the decisions we make now will affect the decisions we make tomorrow. Do we really want those decisions to be saying that our votes don't really count in our Democracy? Isn't that like saying that we really don't live in a democracy after all? Isn't that legitimizing what the non-voter has been saying for years?
The real problem here has been the completely abhorrent behavior of a bunch of Spoiled Brat Republicans. It's as if their entire way of dealing with this difficult issue has been to scream and shout and seek to manipulate the media. It's as if the truth has nothing to do with it.
Or, perhaps the truth has everything to do with it! Perhaps, the real reason the GOP has sought at every opportunity to stand in the way of a manual recount has been that it is afraid a recount will reveal massive Voter Fraud? How else can one explain the fact that in Broward County alone, Gore picked up 540 votes? If Miami-Dade were not shut down by Republican Intimidation, Gore would have picked up another 500 or so there as well. Is this the actions of people who think they have won and won fairly? If Dimpled Ballots were allowed to be counted in Palm Beach County, Gore would have won by over 2000 votes! This is not to mention the insult to injury the elderly Jewish people of Palm Beach had to face when they found out they had mistakenly voted for a noted Nazi sympathizer, and were subsequently ridiculed as being too stupid to vote. Many of these people actually lived through the horrors of Nazi death camps and lived to tell about it. How does the vitriolic response of the GOP serve to fulfill Bush's pledge to bring morality and decency back to the Oval Office? If Palm Beach County's collective voice had been heard, Gore would have won Florida by over 4000 votes!
The only logical explanation as to why the Republicans would fight so hard to stop a manual recount of Florida is that they already know all this. Which means that they have stopped at nothing to deceive the American people and steal this election! After all, if everything were on the up and up, there could be no possible objection to a recount. Statistically, things should turn out the same. If they do not, then that is proof that the system is flawed and if the Republicans knew about it that would be tantamount to conspiracy!
Let us be clear about what it means that the Republicans have protested a recount now when they have, in fact, used them quite often in the past. It means they know something we don't. If they didn't they wouldn't protest. It's that simple. If they didn't know something we didn't, they would instead feel confident that a recount would merely ensure their victory. In short, if they felt confident that the elections in Florida were held fairly, they would welcome a recount! Thus, any behavior to the contrary should be immediately suspect. It does not speak well for the people of this country that they are going to allow a bunch of loud mouths to drown out common sense. It is, in effect, a form of complicity. When someone asks, what is it the Republicans were trying to hide, everyone will know they were trying to hide the fact that they stole the election. Only a full manual recount could ever have disproved this.
We must reiterate: any attempt to deny a full and accurate recount is an attempt to deny Democracy. If a Republican Supreme Court Judge does not argue in favor the truth, the Supreme Court will ultimately undermine its own authority. The real irony here would be rather amusing if it were not so serious. The Republicans, by their name and ideology are for a Republic. That means they believe the States should have power not the Federal Government. Yet here they are arguing in the United States Supreme Court exactly the opposite! Here they are arguing that the States should not have the power to decide how to run their own affairs in these matters. This should show quite clearly their true colors. All along they have been saying that it should be Local Government that should have the power not Big Government and here they are now, arguing in the Big Court that the Local Government should not have power, just because they did not like what the Little Court said. This, my friends, is the action of veteran hypocrites. This is the action of unbridled megalomania. This is the action of a bunch of spoiled rich kids who will say or do anything to get what they want.
The facts of the matter are clear: it should be irrelevant if you are Republican, Democrat or Other. If you want to live in a Democracy, if you want to have the same rights that we have been pushing other countries to adopt, then you must stand up and object to this mockery of our political system. Bush has not brought an end to bickering and in-house fighting, he has made it worse. He could have said nothing. He could have said that, in his home state, Texas allows hand recounts in close races and that, since dimpled votes count in Texas, they should count in Florida also, but instead he has fanned the flames of hatred and division. He has thrown every log he could on the fire to promote nothing short of total hysteria. And he has done so by blaming the Democrats at every opportunity, as if a recount in a close race is something unheard of in a Democracy, as if this is some sort of precedent. When will it become clear to the American people that this is just another form of the Boy Who Cried Wolf? That morality and patriotism are the last acts of scoundrels? When will the American people at last stand up and say they have had enough?
Bringing Dignity to the White House
Dimpled Ballots Legal In Texas ©Copyright 11/21/02000 Fresh Ink
Bush lost the popular vote and, as things stand now, is losing the electoral vote as well. But that hasn't stopped him from declaring himself the victor, or picking out his cabinet. Worse, it hasn't stopped him from using every dirty trick imaginable to prevent a recount of the votes in Florida, which has become the pivotal state and may well decide the election.His supporters have belittled the communities of South Florida as being too stupid to know how to vote, they have contested hand counting the ballots as unreliable and argued for the removal of dimpled ballots. But, not only does Bush's home state of Texas have a law declaring hand counts as legal and valid, it also has a section which specifically allows for counting dimpled ballots if "an indentation on the chad ... is present and indicates a clearly ascertainable intent of the voter to vote."
Wait a minute. What was that?
Here is George Bush doing everything in his power to get hand counting stopped and he allows dimpled ballots to count in his own state?! Wow! What unmitigated audacity. What nerve! What raw, unbridled hypocrisy!
The man ran on a platform of bringing honesty and integrity to the white house, on how he was going to "trust the people, not the politics", and here he is trying to say the people are not to be trusted to provide a reliable recount, even while in fact he does trust them, but only in Texas! And, what's more, he is saying this in court!! That makes him both a hypocrite and a liar. And yet, no one has called him on it. Where is the public outrage?
"All that people are looking for is to have a fair and accurate count completed," Backus, spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, countered Thursday. "You have to wonder why they're bending over backwards to have the recounts stopped."
It has become all too clear that Bush and his cronies will say or do anything just to have their way, yet the media won't say anything about it. They dance around the obvious like they think they're fooling someone. How can the irony not fall upon them that this man is for hand counting ballots in his home state but not in Florida, where it just so happens he's running for president? How can the national media fail to see that here is a man protesting dimpled ballots in Florida when his own laws in Texas clearly state that dimpled ballots are to be counted? Here is a man who said he was about letting the states decide the laws of the country, not the government, and yet he has run all the way to the supreme court to contest a recount in the closest election in American history. And no one says, "wow, I can't believe I voted for this man." No one says, "I am embarassed that we could let this man have the time of day, let alone the presidency."
It's as if, nothing else matters to G. Dubya Bush but the presidency. Not the respect of the international community nor the people at home. After all, how can we have respect for a man who does not trust the people of Florida with a recount? Who is afraid that a recount might mean he might lose? How can we tolerate having such a man as president? What's more, how can we want as our leader someone who cannot stand with dignity and honor and insist on a manual recount as a fair and impartial means to arrive at the truth? How can we place our trust in someone who does not place his trust in us?
Why then is it possible that this man might yet become the president? Because, without a loud and clear signal to the contrary, that is precisely what might just happen. If the people of this country do not get up and protest this obscene farce, if they do not express their outrage, a man the majority of people in this country did not vote for will become their next president. It is up to the American People to stand up, and make it clear, No More BuSHiT!
If we have learned anything from this it's that all you have to do is scream and holler the loudest and you will get your way. That is a sad message to give to the world.
Do not sit idle by and let this man become our next president.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" Edmund Burke
Chicken Coup d'etat
-Ulysses S. Grant
On the 'Stolen Election of 1876' between Tilden and Hayes©Copyright 11/12/02000 Fresh Ink
The issue in Florida concerning this year's presidential election is not that 3407 votes went to Buchanan because people were confused by a Confusing ballot. The issue is that the voting process itself was flawed.We live in the 21st century where the voting process should not be a problem. Late in the 19th century, in 1892, a mechanical device was created which ensured that a voter only voted for a single candidate. It is called a Voting Machine. You pull a lever. If you change your mind and select another candidate the first lever is automatically unselected. This ensures that no one could ever possibly select two candidates for the same office. They have apparently never heard of such a remarkable invention down there in Florida. It is absolutely absurd that over 19,000 votes should be thrown out because two candidates were somehow selected. Even if a small percentage of these votes were for Buchanan, the numbers do not reflect a national average where less than two percent of the country voted Buchanan. So why not remove two percent and give the rest to Gore?
The solution is clear. A re-vote must be conducted. Lets get these people some good old fashioned 19th century technology so that we can ensure an unequivocal closure to what has become a total travesty to the democratic process.
"I commend voters in Palm Beach County for organizing a struggle for a revote. It would be nothing less than an act of tyranny to achieve an election result through the disenfranchisement of a bloc of 19,000 voters who erroneously voted owing to a confusing and deceptive butterfly ballot format. Through that act of suppression, millions of American votes are nullified and we are all equally disenfranchised. In the context of Al Gore’s victory in the plurality of the national popular vote, Bush’s resolve against a revote in Palm Beach County betrays an over-riding anxiety about the legitimacy of his election. If George Bush is earnest about bi-partisan coalition building, then he shouldn’t shirk and thwart true representative democracy in Palm Beach County. To rationalize this group disenfranchisement, Governor Bush has attempted to obscure the profound differences between the 14,000 spoiled ballots in 1996 and this election’s 19,000 ballots. Unlike 1996, Palm Beach County voters have a historic responsibility to refuse a concession of their right to suffrage.Contrary to the legal experts, the state or federal courts will not primarily determine the “fraudulence” of the election process and results in Palm Beach County. The public’s judgement of George Bush’s presidential election as a suppression of democracy will be based upon the mass organized activism of Palm Beach and U.S. voters for the administration of a new fair and free democratic election in Palm Beach County. "
-from Revote, on the Sun-Sentinel Bulletin BoardBruce Rogow, one of the lawyers representing Palm Beach County’s elections supervisor, said he found the Republican’s problems with the manual recount ironic since Bush signed legislation in Texas during the past year supporting manual recounts as the best way to protect voter rights.
“What is the fear of a recount?” asked Rogow. “The notion of a recount is a traditional American method of protecting the integrity of the vote.”
“They need to go through the hand recount because it is the only way to solve this problem,” said Monte Friedkin, chairman of the Democratic Party of Palm Beach County. “We want it because we know we’ll win. They don’t want it because they know it will kill them.”
Earlier Saturday, Bush, along with seven Florida residents, filed a federal suit seeking to stop the manual recounts of ballots requested by Democrats in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Volusia counties. A hearing on the suit was set for Monday morning in Miami, but the recounting in Palm Beach began regardless.
“All of you can go file for an injunction, but until we get a court order it doesn’t mean anything,” said Burton, a member of the county’s canvassing board. “If we get one we’ll read it and we will abide by it.”
The Democrats challenged Bush’s lawsuit by raising questions about the governor’s commitment to mechanical balloting. They found a 1997 law he signed endorsing hand counts in Texas.
“If it's good enough for Texas people, it sure should be good enough for Florida, said state Rep. Anne Gannon, D-Delray Beach, speaking for the Gore campaign.
It is interesting to note that this is not the first time the use of punch card ballots has caused quite a stir.
In Massachusetts, in 1996, William D. Delahunt was initially thought to have lost to Philip W. Johnston in a Democratic primary. But after a review of ballots, the judge awarded the election to Delahunt.
"The overarching principle is that votes count. Sometimes these things take patience," said Steven C. Schwadron, a spokesman for Delahunt.
The ballots that were challenged in Massachusetts, like those in the presidential election in Florida's Palm Beach County, were punch-card ballots in which voters use a stylus to punch out squares for their selections.
Johnston was initially declared the winner by 266 votes. A recount lowered the margin to 175 votes and Delahunt sued. The judge reviewed nearly 1,000 punch-card ballots and ended up declaring Delahunt the winner by 108 votes.
On appeal, the state Supreme Judicial Court agreed with the lower court that indentations where people hadn't punched all the way through the cards should be counted as votes because of "our rule that we seek to discern the voter's intention and to give it effect."
Two years later, Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin banned punch-card ballots, calling them "archaic" and "an inefficient technology."
Galvin, a Democrat, said that if the Florida votes are recounted by hand, "they're going to discover that tens of thousands of punch cards were not read by the machines because the voters were unable to punch out a clear hole."
This is the real reason the GOP does not want a hand count of the Florida ballots: they know full well what we will find, a conspiracy to robbed the American people of their vote, a conspiracy to steal the election. They know we will find, a Chicken Coup d'etat.
The GWB DUI: Why its important
"The saying, 'judge not lest ye be judged' does not mean that if you live in a brick shithouse you can afford to throw stones."
-Dug Fresh©Copyright 11/04/02000 Fresh Ink
Let us for a moment consider the moral character of George W. Bush. He was arrested 24 years ago for drunk driving. Yet, he didn't stop drinking until over ten years later! What does that tell you about his moral character? It tells you that he wasn't concerned about the consequences of his actions. If he was, he wouldn't have waited ten years.Now, far be it for us to cast aspersions about the moral character of others. We do not live in a brick shithouse. However, the man's entire platform has been about how he is going to restore dignity to the White House. How can he bring dignity to the White House when he cannot even bring dignity to his own name? He has preached endlessly about consequences when he himself has not had to face any.
To put it simply, the man does not possess the depth of reasoning necessary to run this country. Sure he's personable. We like him. He seems honest, but it's all fool's gold. He does not have a plan. His sole redeeming quality is that he is smart enough to know he's not smart enough. He leaves the thinking to others. But is he going to leave the thinking to those who have our best interests or theirs in mind? Will he serve the people or the power? For any one who takes the time to study these issues the answers should be clear.
Do not think that somehow Dubya Bush is not for big government. The only candidate not for big government is Ralph Nader. George and Al are both for big government. The big difference is in who they are for controlling it. With Bush it's Big Oil, Big Pharmaceuticals and Big Guns. With Gore it's Big Labor and Big Money, Hollywood and Hi-tech. Here you can clearly see that the Republicans are strictly old school. They would take us back a hundred years over night if you let them. At least with the Democrats we can continue to move forward.
How come you do not hear the Republicans boasting about how this 'great government surplus' is all their doing? Because its not. It was the Democrats that did it. But if we elect the Republicans now it will be like throwing it all away. Sure, you'll still have your guns but precious little else; and under a Dubya Bush presidency, you'll need them.
We need to realize that it's not about who we like, it's about who is best qualified. Clearly, George is not even close. If you only have two choices, and for many that's all there will ever be, then Gore is by far the most qualified. It's important to remember that, beyond our likes and dislikes, is a mighty big job which needs to be filled and we are the ones in charge of hiring a competent person to fill it. Do we want a lackey of Big Oil and Big Guns in charge or do we want someone who will continue to provide what many consider to be the greatest financial boom of our times?
So, before we casually dismiss GWB's DWI as being almost thirty years ago, let us consider it's ramifications a little deeper. Let us think about how such a criminal record usually follows you though life and how a failure to disclose such information is usually grounds for immediate dismissal. The issue is not that the DUI occurred a long time ago or that it took another ten years before he was smart enough to realize that he should quit drinking, its that he wasn't up front about it, its that he did not disclose this information on the application he submitted to the American people.
We are not hiring some dishwasher, we are hiring the next President of the United States of America. There is a big difference between lying about a blowjob and not informing your potential employer about your criminal record. We do not have the right to ask George Bush if he ever had a blowjob but, not only do we have the right, we have the duty to ask him if he has ever been convicted of a crime. This is not something we do not need to know. This is something we absolutely must know if we are to make an informed decision.
So to those of you who are annoyed at this unsurprising little revelation and consider it one more example of dirty politics, maybe you should consider it a taste of your own medicine. Or, maybe you should consider it something more informative about the man you are about to elect as president; maybe you should consider it something more informative about yourself.
Bring Democracy Back to America, Elect Nader ©Copyright 10/31/02000 Fresh Ink
It is absolutely crazy that G.W. Bush might become the next elected president of the United States. It is almost as crazy that Al Gore might be instead. Yet the craziest of all is someone who thinks Ralph Nader might pull a Jesse Ventura and beat them both.If there were only two choices it would be no contest. Sure we like George and we don't like Al but we're electing a president, not a drinking buddy. When it comes to any reasonable criteria, George Bush should not be let anywhere near the White House, let alone elected president. But thank goodness we do not have only two choices. Thank goodness we have Ralph Nader. For the first time we actually have a third party candidate worthy of our vote. This is why Ralph Nader was not allowed into the debates and this is why we must vote Ralph Nader.
This year, the great deciding vote goes to the non-voter. More than half this country doesn't even vote. If they did, they could well decide the fate of the greatest nation on Earth! It's not just that Ralph Nader is the best Candidate for the people, it's that electing Ralph Nader would send a sharp and unequivocal message to both parties telling them the party's over. Can you image what a victory that would mean for democracy? It would prove we have one.
Everybody despairs the limits of a two-party system. People complain that there aren't any real choices. Yet, as each party has become more like the other, now more than ever do real choices matter. Now more than ever do we need a third party. This is why a vote for Nader is the most important vote you can make.
It's going to take a large voter turn out to get Nader elected. If the non-voters of this country united to vote Nader, such a popular uprising would be nothing short of a revolution. If not, then you are our only hope. If you believe in Democracy, if you are proud to be an American, then lets bring Democracy back to America. Lets elect a fresh choice. Lets elect Ralph Nader for President.
Navigating Now in Black and White
©Copyright 08/08/02000 Fresh Ink
"we live in the best of all possible worlds"
Leibniz
Currently in the Multiverse today, Galactic Empires are judged by the beauty of their planets. They cherish them like jewels most precious and rare. Such planets boast world wide Gardens, endless wildernesses with endless trails, and a cornucopia of other exoctic marvels far beyond our current limitations to comprehend. There are planets where there are no words for forests because that is all that is there.
However, rarely do the histories of these Galactic Empires not contain periods of great loss and tragedy. Many Paleontologists here on Earth note that there have been Five Mass Extinctions in the course of Earth's history and that we are in the midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction now. What's more, we are it's cause. But is this how it has to be? The question is, are we only capable of learning from our mistakes, that is, in some cases when it is already too late, or can we learn to avoid these mistakes before they happen?
NERDS throughout the Multiverse would like to think that, not only can we learn to avoid mistakes before they happen, but we've been doing so for millions of years. It is the firm conviction of NERDS everywhere that we are capable of doing with our minds in five minutes, what it takes Biological Evolution, five million years to do, recapitulate our existence and adapt. But we can do so much more! We can build adaptions that can do what it would take us millions of years to do, in a tenth of a second!
What we are also witnessing here, along side Mass Extinction, is Mass Revolution. The first great revolution was Biological. However, this revolution is Cyberlogical! With it will come the end of all extinction and a glorious Golden Age when the great Planetary Renewal will begin. This will be an age when the ravages of the past will be healed. It will be an age when the Creatures of Earth will venture forth into the cosmos.
But first, we must solve our problems down here on Earth. We can use the power of Adaption to sanely and sensibly evolve into a Galactic Empire or we can "fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way," slowly stretching out the immanence of our demise. The choice is ours. We can live long and prosper or we can perish. That's about as black and white as you can make it.
The Threat of Microsoft
©Copyright 08/08/02000 Fresh Ink
"If I have seen farther than other men, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants."
Sir Isaac Newton
Quite frankly, Breaking up Microsoft is Cruel and Unusual Punishment. It does not fit the crime. Rather, it is the crime. This is not in any way meant as a defense of Microsoft's business practices, which are common to all competetive markets and foreign to none. It is simply a statement of fact. No one forces consumers to buy Windows. Windows sells well because it satisfies what the consumer wants. It is a great product. Windows 2000 is a grand achievement and Microsoft should not be punished, it should be congratulated. Microsoft has done more for everyone on this planet than everyone else combined. It has stood atop the backs of giants and it has seen far beyond it's gaze.
If Historians remember Newton correctly he was pretty nasty to Leibniz. Yet his words are as true today as they were then and we have much to thank him for. In the same way, Bill Gates might not have been the greatest of friends to Steve Jobs, but we have much to thank him for as well.
It is unfortunate for those with color blindness that we do not live in a black and white world. It is a rich and vibrant pageant perhaps too intense for some. Not everyone sees the great steps forward Windows has brought the world. Not everyone truly fathoms the role Bill Gates has played in ushering in a New Golden Age. Nevertheless as profits are made and greater visions gained, it will be, for many, on the backs of Windows and Microsoft. We, here at Fresh Ink Virtual Studios, for one, are grateful. Thank you, Microsoft. You have helped these NERDS find their revenge.
The Sum is more than the Bottom Line
©Copyright 02000 Fresh InkOne thing we have known intuitively: You cannot profit at someone else's expense and endure. You may profit in the short term but the long term odds are very much against it. There is a sort of anthropological relativity here. The more you seek to profit at someone else's expense the more energy is required to continue doing so until the energy required exceeds any profit which could have been gained. It is thus inevitably self defeating.
On the other hand, you can profit from the profits of others and endure. Indeed, it is the only way.
For example, consider the Ficticious Floral Wholesale Company. Now, Floral Retailers have a very low success rate; most fail. As a Ficticious Floral Wholesaler, we would find that very disconcerting, to say the least, because, it is the rate by which the Wholesaler profits at the Retailer's expense that determines the overall longevity, or lack thereof, of the Wholesaler. The more your goals become focused on the bottom line, the more you narrow your focus to just quotas and expected earnings, the less you are concerned for the overall well being of your customers. The more you make your goal the bottom line, the more you need to literally eat your customers up just to stay alive.
But, when your customers prosper, the bottom line no longer seems as relevant. Suddenly, the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts. Thus, the real concern is not the math, not the excel presentation or the profit margin, but the prosperity of the customer. The question is not, "How much can we sell them" but, "How rich can we make them."
In our example of the Ficticious Floral Wholesale Company, the question should never be, "How can we get just one more box of roses out the door" but, "How can we help our customers need to buy one more box of roses in the first place!"
As an example of a company that exemplifies what we are trying to say, that profit profits from profit, we might pick PowerAdz. Here is a company that is offering a service that is proving to dramatically increase it's customers profits! Through a product called ZWire, they have enabled their customers, currently over 500 newspapers nationwide, to reap enormous profits. How is this accomplished? Accessibility and Content. The newspapers provide the content,PowerAdz provides the accessiblility. What's more, PowerAdz gets it! They understand that as their customers prosper (while, we might add, making a sane and sensible migration from printed media to digital) so too will PowerAdz profit as well.
As perhaps Adam Smith should have said, the way to wealth is through innovation. And the way to innovate is to find a problem and fix it. ZWire is a solution to the needs and demands of it's customers. It provides a solution to the problems which had heretofor hindered their customers' further development. Furthermore, PowerAdz provides Rebrandable materials, a customer success program and a robust platform to succeed on. At every turn they have taken steps to ensure the profits of their customers. What better way to ensure their own?
Greeting the Future by Voice Mail
Part 1
Please Leave A Message
©Copyright 02000 Fresh InkThroughout much of Man’s History, his best explanation for the existence of himself and his universe has been God. After all, it is hard not to look around in awe and not feel the tremendous urge to believe that there could be no other explanation. Nearly all of Man’s History is dominated by one form of creation myth or another. But there was never a viable alternative to the Divine Watchmaker Story, to the idea that the universe and man could be explained by means other than by an act of Divine Will, until Darwin and the theory of Natural Selection.
In fact, Darwin uprooted the whole structure upon which the edifice in a belief in God was built. He showed that it was not necessary to explain a mystery with a mystery when a perfectly logical and scientific explanation was available. What’s more, Darwin’s theory offered testable predictions whereas a belief in God by its very nature could not. Thus the world was compelled to accept, albeit begrudgingly, the theory of Natural Selection. As a result, we now have the study of Genetics and the Human Genome Project, Cloning and Genetic Engineering. But while there are many who might question whether any of this is a good thing, the point is that Darwin showed how a bottom-up approach could ‘create’ what had heretofore only been seriously considered in a top-down modality.
Time and again we have seen the top-down approach give way to stronger more robust bottom-up solutions. Consider the current revolution in the software industry as portrayed in the Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric S. Raymond. Here companies such as Microsoft are portrayed as the Cathedral, representing a top-down approach (it goes from God to me to you) in contrast to the Bazaar which represents the whole Linux/ Open Source movement. If Darwin is right then the historical impetus is with the Bazaar.
In another less tasteful sense this polemic has been further characterized in Jihad vs. McWorld, by Benjamin Barber, as a battle between the old and the new, the past and the future. Here, the Jihad represents tribalism or sectarianism, a breaking apart or splintering of the world into groups of ever smaller sizes, whereas McWorld represents the dark side of Man’s natural progression toward a global unity as an assimilation into a hive-like collective reminiscent of the Borg in Star Trek. But that need only be imaginative fiction, not reality. If we are allowed to mix our metaphors, then perhaps what is happening with Linux and the Open Source Movement is a better example of the tendency represented by McWorld towards increasing connectivity and integration. Perhaps the Open Source Movement is indicative of the general trend in the Universe toward increasing complexity or what has occasionally been called Negentropy. If that is indeed the case then McWorld is simply an attempt by the tribal-modality to discredit the growing trend toward globalization by choosing an unfavorable image. This is perhaps understandable in light of the perceived threat the theory of Natural Selection has had on the role of a Creator Diety as a viable explanation for the existence of the Universe.
As science continues to encroach upon the sacred territory once firmly under the sovereignty of God, it is increasingly perceived as a threat to that sovereignty. However, this does nothing to halt evolution's inexorable crawl toward higher states of order; it merely serves to make the transition more painful. In the end, the Cathedral will become relegated to the Museum of Antiquities while the Bazaar will continue to scaffold itself into higher and higher realms of novelty, paving the way for a robust and vibrant future.
"God was invented to explain mystery. God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand. Now, when you finally discover how something works, you get some laws which you're taking away from God; you don't need him anymore. But you need him for the other mysteries. So therefore you leave him to create the universe because we haven't figured that out yet; you need him for understanding those things which you don't believe the laws will explain, such as consciousness, or why you only live to a certain length of time--life and death--stuff like that. God is always associated with those things that you do not understand. Therefore I don't think that the laws can be considered to be like God because they have been figured out."
--Richard FeynmanNERDS Archive
Y2KY Archives
Who else but a worldwide society of Hackers and computer programmers could perpetrate the ultimate plot by which to free the world from its financial enslavement?
"And the larger fear looms: We are in the process of building one vast global computer, which could easily become The Legacy System from Hell that holds civilization hostage—the system doesn’t really work; it can’t be fixed; no one understands it; no one is in charge of it; it can’t be lived without; and it gets worse every year. " -Stewart Brand
"Before we were created, we were obsolete. Corrolary: Innovation exceeds Development"
-Dug Fresh
The Real Y2K Bug
1/9/02000The Real Y2K Bug was not a computer virus. The real Millennium Bug is and continues to be, a type A Strain of the Sydney Virus known as H3NT. This is the third year of Outbreak of this particular strain and it is nasty. Symptoms include a persistant and unproductive cough, headaches, and extreme fatigue.
Moments to Ponder
December,31,01999Key moments during Y2K to key in on:
- 4:52 AM EST, Fri Dec. 31st,01999---Y2K Begins
- 7:00 PM EST Fri Dec. 31st, 01999---Russian-Chinese assault begins
- 7:35 PM EST Fri Dec. 31st, 01999---Earth is rendered uninhabitable for millions of years.
Fireworks Displays have been cancelled as have all plans for next week. Please remain indoors for the duration and have a nice day.
The Party is Off!
December,30,01999As parties are cancelled the world over (Jerusalem, Seattle, and now even Washington DC) we quietly prepare to usher in the Millennium at a private little party nestled somewhere in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Meanwhile, we stop to consider that, even as we toast the start of a new millennium, Wars Rage in a Third of the World's Nations and the Rain Forests are given less than fifteen years left to live. We don't know what will happen tomorrow night, but we do know that, if we are to survive globally as a species, then we must do more to ensure the future for our children than we have done. But while Y2K may come to an end, the Revenge of the NERDS shall live on, conspiring to build a better tomorrow, until the day when ignorance itself has been rendered extinct. Happy New Year Everyone! Happy New Millennium. The future is what we make it. Let us make it a good one. Love is the Law, Love under Will...
Ready for What?
December 12, 01999Keeping up on the news, I've notice a lot of talk of readiness and preparedness. The Military is Ready, the Banks are Prepared. This certainly is a strong indication that at least something is going to happen. The question is, what is going to happen? One small concern is a possible Nuclear War. Closer to home, NYC has been preparing for the worst with a $300 Million Dollar state-of-the-art Command Center complete with filtered air to thwart chemical and biological attacks. Meanwhile the FBI has been keeping its Eye on Would-Be Y2K Terrorists. It would almost seem we have more to worry about with all these crackpots running loose than with any computer bug. Unfortunately, a recently published Y2K Study Says that there are "serious doubts" that the 55,000 drinking water utilities and 16,000 wastewater facilities in the United States will be ready for Y2K. However, while all this may seem to be just the tip of the iceberg, at least some are seeing Y2K as a blessing in disguise. At the very least Y2K will be a chance to make friends with your neighbors...
December 12, 01999
What Does West Nile Encephalitis Have To Do With Y2K?
October 30, 01999
Religious Fanacticism runs rampant here on Earth. You could say its something in the air. With the Third Millenium looming ever closer, you could say Y2K is the Golden Opportunity of Religious Fantatics all over the world to prove themselves right all along. And what better way than to assist in the fulfillment of prophecy?The Bible contains the Book of Revelations which describes Armageddon, the final battle between Good and Evil. However, we live in confusing times. We are caught between frames so to speak. On the one hand, the Bible describes a Dualist Mindset yet, on the other hand, Science has had great success in its descriptions of the Universe in strictly Materialist terms. What this means is that for many of us we have an Enlarged Tendency to fail to distinguish between these two rival cosmologies. Good and Evil belong to the realm of Archetypes. They have little relevance to the relativities of Science. Furthermore, as science has led us into Materialism and away from Dualism, we often make the mistake of interpereting Armageddon in Materialistic terms and assume that it represents the World of Matter. However, the peole who are forced to work for a living are not so much concerned with Archetypes and the incongruites of our various Mental Maps as they are with paying the bills. Perhaps these people dream of an Afterlife, a refuge from the horrors of mortgage payments and the seventy hour work week but for now they can only be concerned with the Harsh Realities of Economics and, sometimes, Ecology (as when it can be ignored no longer). Quite simply, for the vast majority of people on this planet, affluence and Quality of Life have been denied them. What better way, then, to fulfill the dreams of an Afterlife than to Immanentize the Eschaton? What better way to put an end to this suffering and death once and for all? But all this is a confusion, a confusion of the contexts within which we frame our thoughts. If we were but able to distinguish between the Realm of Spirit and the Realm of Matter there might not have been a Y2K problem in the first place, or atleast not a Problem Bandwagon for all the Freakaholic Psychopaths and Religious and Political Hate Groups to jump on.
To some, it may seem spurious to claim a connection between Mankind's conceptual connundrums and Y2K. However, look at the crisis of Middle Management over the past thirty years. Lay-offs, a decrease in wages, and the constant pressure to compete in a global marketplace has led to the demise of the single income family, and to the wholesale disenfranchisement of the individual. It doesn't take a degree from Harvard to see that the consequences were inevitable. The Memes used by Religion to control the masses were at odds with the Memes used by Big Business to engineer Mankind into ravenous consumer beasts. On the one hand Religion says, suffer now and be rewarded later (in the Afterlife) whereas McWalmartsoft says buy now, pay later. Its a war between instant gratification and guilt. In such instances the tools used to enlighten become corrupted with the tools used to compete with the Jones'.
Think of Information as the Realm of Spirit. It does not have mass. It is merely a Configuration of Matter. Aristotle called this the Realm of Archetypes, Jung, the Realm of the Collective Unconscious. Here is where the final battle between Good and Evil takes place, where it must take place, the only place it can take place. But many confuse Dualism with Materialism and project this final battle outward, onto the Physical Universe. And this is where we run into trouble. Science provides us with the tools to wage our Inner Wars on the Outer World. It allows us to Genetically Engineer Viruses with which to battle against the forces of Evil; and what is the United States to many if not an Evil Empire? Does Iran like us? Does Iraq? Do they have the Technology to launch Biological War? Of course they do. We sold it to them.
October 30, 01999
Y2K Meltdown Possible
October 19,01999
A friend the other day said he heard a chilling Y2K report on a radio show called Pacifica Radio. I plugged Pacifica into my search engine and not only found their webpage but I found the show as well. I heartily recommend to those who have somehow managed to stumble by here to check it out. The entire audio file is available in the Democracy NOW! Archive for October 15. Its a speech by Helen Caldicott called Why to Care About Y2K. Basically there appears to be some minor concern over all the world's Nuclear Power Plants Melting Down if they lose electricity. She says, that it takes a Million Gallons of water per minute to keep these Reactors from Reaching Critical Mass. If they were to suddenly lose power, they could go critical in about two minutes. If we were to begin shutting them down now, it would take six months. Helen proposes the installation of solar powered generators as a backup against Y2K Power Failures. But what I don't fully get is, if we use Nuclear Power Plants for power how can they lose electricity? Don't they get power from themselves? It is my basic understanding that the issue is a bit more complex than that but I don't have any answers. However, if there is a threat of Y2K Related Power Failures causing a Meldown, then the problem is serious.
Hellen went on to say that FEMA has been stockpiling a form of Iodine that is used primarily in response to just such a crisis.While FEMA advises preparedness as Y2K's Golden Mean, there are some who have a few rather disparaging remarks to make about FEMA's clandestine roll as our nation's Secret Government; and while I cannot attest to the veracity of any of the statements made on any of the aforemntioned websites, I do feel there is suitable cause for alarm. A Nuclear Meltdown would certainly be reason enough for the Forces of FEMA to make themselves known, to suspend the constitution, declare Martial Law and otherwise engage in activities as nefarious as it seems some would suggest. What's more, while it may be specious and paranoid to assume some evil hand at work, it is clear that the mixed metaphor of winter's discontent is a fragile tapestry indeed.
October 20,01999
TP: Crisis at the Dawn of the New Millenium
September 22, 01999
Is anybody out there disappointed with Y2k already? In every instance so far, at every nefarious Y2KDate, Y2k has failed to deliver nary a peep. What gives? Is it all hype? Or is the quiet a sure sign of a growing tidalwave of PANIC?
"One thing's for sure, you don't want to be the last one to panic!"
Doug H. Nutt
If nobody panics there is nothing to worry about. However, once people start to lose it, things are going to get ugly. There will be shortages. There will be bank runs. Unfortunately, many of us are not in a position to do anything about it.This is where our local communities must step in. Outreach Programs and Church Services should have already begun stocking up on vital supplies that they should anticipate may be needed--- Fresh Water/Purification Tablets, Medical Supplies, Blankets, Toilet Paper, Beans and Rice.
In a Barter Economy Toilet Paper could fetch twice it's weight in Gold!
The important thing is to move slowly. Make small purchases, do not seem overly anxious. But do what you need to do to be ready. And then, do what you can to be ready for others.
September 22, 01999
Y2Konspiracy: Fact or Fashion
July 25, 01999
It is hard to believe something so ignorant and shortsight as Y2KY could be anything other than a massive worldwide conspiracy. But the end of the world? No. Probably not. But it doesn't look like its going to be pretty. Last month a test of the local Sewage Plant in Van Nuys, California, for Y2K compliance went terribly wrong, spilling millions of gallons of raw sewage into a nearby neighborhood. If this is any indication, it would seem major disruption of local utilities and municipalities are almost assured. But is it the end? We should be so lucky.
Apathy and intentional neglect have made Y2K more of a mess than it had to be. Indeed, apathy and intentional neglect have made Y2K what it is today. That is, assuming you've ruled out Illuminazi involvement.But what about the NERDS? Might we not hope that, in the style of comic books and Hollywood, some secret cabal has secretly orchestrated the ultimate revenge against a cruel and unfeeling society? Or is that just adolescent fantasy?
Of course in the realm of sheer conjecture, anything goes. If the New World Order is the Holy Roman Empire in disguise, If the Holy Roman Empire is secretly rule by Extraterrestrials from the Twelfth Planet, and if Y2K not of their orchestration, then perhaps there is a Negative Entropy Reverse Distribution Society out there. It all depends on how it all turns out. If, after Y2K, its as if a dark weight has been lifted from mankind's collective soul, then we owe the NERDS a debt of gratitude. But if, Y2K turns out to be the prelude to mankind's worst nightmare, then it was obviously the work of the Evil Empire. Here's hoping that Y2K turns out to be the Revenge of the NERDS...
July 25,01999
Is the Y2KY-Jelly scare just a wet firecracker?
* * * * * The Profits of Doom fall short of expected earnings--news at eleven
April 23, 01999
Many gloomy Y2k-dire dates have come and gone with nary a peep from the Ugly Head of Doom. Have we nothing to fear but fear itself? Or will Y2K be dwarfed by even bigger concerns?
What happened to the "New Fiscal Year" Gloomers who forecasted a prelude to woe on April 1st of this year? Have we the same lackluster frenzy to look forward to come this September (9/9/99)? Or are the Killer Comets going to get us first?
Obviously the world abounds with Prophets of Doom, the snake oil salemens of would-be Nihilists for the Last Generation. But if they really bought what they sold, they'd realize there isn't any future in it. Its just a misplaced fantasy. Instead of making any real effort, of planting a garden, or cleaning up a toxic waste-site, these people default to apathy instead. After all, if the Rapture is scheduled for next tuesday, you wouldn't necessarily expect to have plans on wednesday.
It should be apparent that Nihilism is a sad pathetic self-fulfilling prophecy at odds with any meaningful human existence. Nothing has ever been gained by giving up or giving in. Only by visualizing a future can we be expected to be able to build one.
"How can we invest in a future we know is structurally incapable of keeping faith with its past? The digital industries must shift from being the main source of society’s ever-shortening attention span to becoming a reliable guarantor of long-term perspective. We’ll know that shift has happened when programmers begin to anticipate the Year 10,000 Problem, and assign five digits instead of four to year dates. “01998” they’ll write, at first frivolously, then seriously."
-Stewart BrandSo what ever happens come January 1st,2000, we must be prepared to do our best come what may. If Y2KY is a New World Conspiracy there's not much we can do about it now anyway. The best thing to do is to prepare like you are going on a camping trip for a very long time...
April 23,01999
©Copyright 01998-02003
NERDS Archive from 01/29/02001 to 07/25/01999
NERDS Archive 2 from 08/08/02000 to 04/23/01999
NERDS Archive 3 from 12/09/02001 to 06/23/02002
Email: postmaster@freshspace.net