I'm a nice guy, I guess.

[silveradept]

So much so that I'll save damsels in distress by taking their umpiring shift, sacrificing a wander about the art fair to do so. Oh, well, there's always Friday... or tomorrow, if I wanted to get up. So I took a four-game shift tonight after begging for some money from one of the places that was handing it out. I'll know how well my begging went tomorrow.

Microsoft agrees to self-police and play more fair in the competitive environment. Coming hot on the heels of getting a beatdown from the European commission about anti-trust stuff, it's no wonder that Microsoft is trying to appease everyone, so that their bottom line doesn't suffer too greatly.

Weapons to protect oneself in office politics. Xacto-style shuriken - for decorative purpose only, don't use them as they're sharp and will hurt someone.

The President finally exercises his first veto - voting down the opening of new stem-cell research lines. You may direct all correspondence to: Mr. George W. Bush, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500. Remember, sending explosives or abrasive chemicals is a violation of federal post law. Sending a blistering invective about the stupidity of the decision is not. On a realistic scale, my SCIENCE!-following friends, how far back does Mr. Bush set progress with his decision?

Speaking of setting progress back, this image-sidebar-recommendation thing on corporal punishment suggests that in the Christian household, "smacking" can be applied as long as 15 mintues, if necessary. I'm sorry, I call that "child abuse" if it carries on for this long, regardless of the grievousness of the offense. Not to mention that physical punishment only works for so long. The other bullet points in this list are just as scary and authoritarian - they're designed to make a child cower in fear of their parents rather than to cuddle and confide in them. I wonder how many regularly "smacked" children end up in the care of social services. On a different tack, scary, scary, people who think atheists have no moral/ethical imperative to do good things. Among other things. Since when did belief in God become a critical component of knowing what's good and what's not? After all, science is not a faith, but it still produces things that are considered positive and negative, no god(s) necessary. (Although, if you want some gods, try Godchecker.com

Work schedules need to be more flexible - most of the workforce has 'social jet lag'. This is true - some days you just need to sleep in longer, regardless of what you did the night before.

Bloggers blocked in India to stop "extremism". Slippery slope here, people. Start sliding and you'll find it's very well greased.

Alien Ant Farm. No, not the band.

Last marks for tonight - A potential reason why people are so opposed to gay marriage, even when supportive of gay rights. A quest for a gender identity in a word where gender identity is becoming even more and more fluid, flexible, and flux. I wonder if it's really true - that the people who don't think of gays as abominations condemned by God or second-class citizens of some sort really are worried about losing what they probably consider their last bastion of "proper" gender identity. How do you respond to that in such a way that these people will embrace the fluidity and permit homosexuals to join the ranks of the married?

Comments

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

"smacking does so much good for the child and you" - WHAT?! How is smacking a good thing? Perhaps a light swat on the tush or a smack of the hand with a firm "no", but beating your child for 15 minutes? You kidding me? I'd prolby cry the whole way through it. The power the word "no" has over a 2 yr old is amazing. There's no need to smack them for a lengthy period of time...most children, if you START OUT YOUNG just using the word "No" and a light hand smack get the idea about what they can and cannot do/touch.

"If the child is angry, you have not smacked hard enough" - What the hell? Do they advocate drawing blood too? I agree with you, smacking your kid for 15 minutes on their bottom *is* a form of child abuse.

Social Jet Lag - While I think that's probably very true, I don't think many employers will say "Come in when you want". School starting at 10 gets a bit easier to do when you're in collge and can schedle your classes as you choose, but I don't think we'll ever see Elemetary, Middle or High School starting as late as 10. For one thing, think about the teachers who have to commute an hour or two to the school. I mean, sure it's rough to have to leave your house at 6am to get to school to start ar 8, but if you aren't starting until 10, you won't get home until well after 5pm - and that also would make after school activities start much later too, which puts even more of a strain on the teachers and school.

Gay Marriage - I dn't think I'm losing out on any part of my gender identity just because two men or two women get married. Heck, in some cases I think gay couples are better at the marriage thing than straight couples, if only because it's statistically shown that gay couples stay together longer than straight ones. and what about Transgendered people? Where do they fall in all of this?

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

I agree that fifteen minutes goes into abuse. But as I said above, a good spanking, when done properly, is healthy for the child.

Have teh best

-=TK

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

What do you define as "a good spanking"?

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

Open-hand. Hard enough to sting but not bruise. Ten to fifteen seconds should suffice.

I've opened a forum on my journal for further discussion, rather than make a mess on Silver's.

Have teh best

-=TK

[annaonthemoon.livejournal.com]

I still don't know if i can condone it, only because I know there are other ways of disciplining young children.

...will head over to your post later.