On The Death Of Aaron Swartz

The person most responsible for Aaron's death is Aaron.

I know that some people won't like to hear this but I think it is a mistake to jump to "the government killed him" either literally or figuratively.

In the literal sense, it is simply a conspiracy theory pile of bullshit and I will not dignify it with a response.

In the figurative sense I agree that there is some culpability on the part of the Justice Department but it was predictable that he was going to be prosecuted and if he was not prepared to pay a legal price for civil disobedience then he should not have done it. There is a misapprehension by many people of what civil disobedience means. It does not mean that you flout a law with no expectation of prosecution. It is actually the opposite. You set yourself up to act as a lightning rod as a result of you being prosecuted and you hope that through your efforts the law will be changed.

 Perhaps his suicide will add more impetus to the cause and encourage others to follow his example. I don't know. What I do know is that it was, in the end, Aaron's choice to end his life.

One last point needs to be made. He was not Alan Turing, being prosecuted for who he was.There is a difference and it is demeaning to both these men to conflate the two.

On That Evil Socialist Obama

Hullabaloo:

"The December jobs figures out today indicate that there were 725,000 more jobs in the private sector than at the end of 2008 — and 697,000 fewer government jobs. That works into a private-sector gain of 0.6 percent, and a government sector decline of 3.1 percent. "

'via Blog this'

Of course this completely fucks up the right wing talking point that Obama has exploded the size of government. But then when did they ever let facts get in the way of a good talking point?

On John Boehner and booze

If he is an alcoholic and not in recovery then he should give up the Speaker's gavel.

There have been rumors for years that he is a drunk. Surely the GOP wouldn't be so irresponsible as to put a drunk third in line for the Presidency. Or would they?

On Deepak Chopra

The charitable take on him is that he is simply a salesman pushing a product.

A more charitable take is that he is delusional and actually believes the crap he is peddling.

A less charitable take is that he is  a confidence man.

Thoughts?

On Civility

In my experience, the call for "keeping the conversation civil" is often a weapon used by the privileged to sweep the concerns of those legitimately  outraged by said privilege under the rug.

On Royce White

White calls Rockets' statements misleading, inaccurate | NBA.com:

"I do wish to play, but I only intend to do so with the collaboration and recommendation of trained professionals. The purpose of a doctor's confirmation is to ensure that health decisions are made in the sole interest of health and not conflicted with business. My only hope is that decision makers involved realize that doctors are the only logical source to decide action."

'via Blog this'

If he had a physical issue there would be no question. Because it is a mental health issue he is told that he must just suck it up or is described as being some sort of whiner.

We have a broken society.

Optimal Rape Survival Strategy

“Had the girl simply surrendered…” » Greta Christina's Blog:

"The prospective rapist should decide not to rape the victim."

'via Blog this'

Seems pretty obvious to me.