2010/2/08
Washington Post - What if senators represented people by income or race, not by state?
But what if the 100-member Senate were designed to mirror the overall U.S. population — and were based on statistics rather than state lines?
This article is basically just a variation on the old “100 people in the world” chain email, only limited to the US, but actually, I think it would be a good idea to rejigger the Senate along the lines of social blocks. Specifically, I think we should cut the number of Senators per state down to 1 and make it so the other 50 Senators represent self-identified social groups. Basically, every few years people would be asked to give themselves a couple labels—“white” “black” “conservative” “Christian” “teacher” “scientist” whatever—and then the top 50 self-identifications would become things that one could be the Senator for. So, one could imagine Jessie Jackson running to be the Senator for the black caucus or Sarah Palin running to be the Senator representing Conservative Christians. I would also love to see Larry Lessig as the Senator representing the technology industry. One could imagine a Senator for veterans or doctors and so on for all of societies different roles.
The point of this is that the Senate is designed to give minority groups (in its original case, small states) an outsized voice. I think that’s still a good idea, but I don’t think one’s state affiliation is the most relevant social group most people belong to. Yes, there’s a big difference between Hawaiians and South Carolinians, but there’s not necessarily any difference between North and South Dakotans. So the point would be to allow people to exercise collective influence in ways beyond a merely geographical unity.
2010/2/07
The Evolution of Remix Culture
2010/2/06
Thoughtful Nation Questioning Whether Anyone Can Really ‘Win’ The Super Bowl
“We always say that one football team ‘wins’ the Super Bowl and one football team ‘loses’ it, but when you think about it—really think about it outside the narrow framework of scoring points—is that an accurate assessment of what happens?” Wheeling, WV resident Matthew Holland said. “One team celebrates while another walks solemnly back into the tunnel, but why? Another football season will begin again soon, and in the fullness of time, another Super Bowl will be played as if nothing had happened. And in a way, nothing has.”
2010/2/05
(There’s more on the site.)
0:53
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But here’s the paradox: It’s not a terrorist’s time bomb that’s ticking. It’s us. Since 9/11, we have become ever more willing to suspend basic protections and more contemptuous of American traditions and institutions. The failed Christmas bombing and its political aftermath have revealed that the terrorists have changed very little in the eight-plus years since the World Trade Center fell. What’s changing—what’s slowly ticking its way down to zero—is our own certainty that we can never be safe enough and our own confidence in the rule of law.
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2010/2/04
The Obama administration has adopted the Bush policy of targeting selected American citizens for assassination if they are deemed (by the Executive Branch) to be Terrorists.
I can’t think of any potential abuses for this concentration of absolute power in the hands of a single, non-accountable individual.
2010/2/02
A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible - A Day at the Office
The last comic reminded me of this classic A.L.I.S.L.B.T.D.I.I. Over-Educated Jampot is so upset in the next-to-last panel!
20:33
white ninja comics - white ninja’s small but complete family
I like how upset he looks in the last panel as he speeds away.
2010/2/01
Do not adjust your web browser! (This How-To video explains how it was done.)
I’m surprised we haven’t seen this technique used more, actually. I’ve always been a fan of glitching. Way back in 1998, I experimented with making some glitched JPEGs by changing line endings from /n to /n/r. It had surprisingly good results.
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