Internet (Evidence)

France

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:29:55 +0100

I’m traveling to the south of France. Staying in Aubigny-sur-Nere, at a cute little B&B. Interestingly, they serve morning coffee in a bowl. Food is excellent, and last night we started our tour of regional wines.

Pics to follow.

"Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather..."

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:27:12 +0100

“Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all. Now this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of what’s possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. It’s the art of the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God’s edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one’s life on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime, but to base our policy making on such commitments would be a dangerous thing.”

- Barack Obama (via azspot)

I think Obama’s pretty much right on this one. I would only add the wrinkle that if I am opposed to abortion for religious reasons and seek to pass a law banning the practice, I can point ot the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I think the language of religion has every place in the public sphere. However, this method may be a poor way to build a consensus.

We do not have a majority religious tradition in this country—at least not a majority voting block. Catholics and Evangelicals may both oppose abortion, but they do so for very different reasons. If they are going to organize they will need to reach out to others, which means leaving room for a lot more ecumenicalism than some are comfortable with.
(via squashed) For the philosophy nerds out there, this is John Rawls’ notion of an Overlapping Consensus.

"Political principles, so understood, will not be separate from the rest of what religious and..."

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:37:02 +0100

“Political principles, so understood, will not be separate from the rest of what religious and secular citizens believe. Instead, they will constitute a realm of overlap among all the “comprehensive doctrines” in the envisaged society — at least all those that are “reasonable,” by which Rawls means willing to respect the equal dignity of all citizens. Each religious or secular doctrine will accept the political principles, and the independent moral arguments that ground them, as one part or “module” in their overall view of life, though most at this point will connect them to deeper metaphysical ideas and arguments. At the same time, citizens will also endorse the political conception as the basis for a mutually respectful and reciprocal life with one another. Thus the public realm is a realm in which we join hands and talk a common language.”

- John Rawls and Our Plural Nation

Nussbaum, you little minx you!

Canadiana. Love Sam Roberts new stuff.

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:20:44 +0100

Canadiana. Love Sam Roberts new stuff.

Back from Paris, with love and indigestion

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:54:00 +0100

I was a great tourist in Paris. I did everything a great tourist ought to do. I even shyed away when the protestors got too close. Here’s a pic of Sash:

"And let me inform you, when you’re interviewing with Bob from the HR team at Wal-Mart who’s wearing..."

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:14:05 +0100

“And let me inform you, when you’re interviewing with Bob from the HR team at Wal-Mart who’s wearing a tie that has the twin towers smoking with writing underneath that says “We Will Never Forget,” your art history degree says to him “I’m a commie a-hole who thinks I’m better than guys with 9/11 ties.””

- Number 10: Art History. From The 10 Most Worthless College Majors

YouTube People

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:11:46 +0100

I find it incredibly amazing that people sit in front of their web-cam’s and do acoustic versions of other people’s songs. It’s just strange that they do that. I realize some want to be famous, but I think others just enjoy doing it. It’s like one big internet karaoke-fest.

daily dose of outlandish celebrity gossip

Sat, 24 May 2008 20:49:12 +0100

unreliablewitness:

Very few people will openly acknowledge this, but in his early days as a performer, Lil’ Bow Wow was drugged and then aggressively sodomized by his limo driver. The attack left Bow Wow with 16 stitches. News of the assault quickly spread through the hip-hop underground, and Snoop Dogg became so infuriated that he ordered a hit on the limo driver, who has not been seen or heard from since. Insiders report that to this day, Bow Wow still trembles whenever the car he is in comes to an unexpected stop, or the driver lowers the glass partition and asks him if he’s comfortable in the back seat.

It never fucking ends with this. You’re an obsessive, strange man, friend.

Ruin (via my flickr). Just shot this out the window on our way...

Tue, 20 May 2008 01:35:48 +0100

Ruin (via my flickr). Just shot this out the window on our way to a cottage in Scotland. Tons of little ruins around the country-side. Amazing.

Cabbie: Are you going to vote?

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:50:16 +0100

Cabbie: Are you going to vote?
Me: Sorry, which election?
Cabbie: The US one, you're American aren't you?
Me: Canadian, ...eh?
Cabbie: Ack! I can usually tell by the accent.
Me: God, I wish I could vote in this election.
Me: It could be the single most important election of my life time, the first chance to change the lives of ordinary people for the better.
Me: YES WE CAN!!!!
Cabbie: And here's your stop...
Me: ...sigh.

Tumblize: "To All Y'all $999 Haters..."

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:22:42 +0100

Tumblize: "To All Y'all $999 Haters...":

I’ve come up with an ingenius way to solve the current web-design fiasco. First tumblize will design a theme for me. Second, Bill Israel, and Numblr, will design me themes. Finally, I will choose which theme I want, AND decide whether I would have paid $999 for it.

What can I say? I’m a problem solver.

What I've Been Doing (instead of posting)

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:08:01 +0100

Flew to Canada, successfully defended my MA
Traveling through Scotland where I’ve/am:
- staying in cottages (Blairmore, Applecross, Edinburgh)
- walking through castles (Mount Stuart, Inverary Castle, etc.)
- climbing mountains
- four-wheeling (or”quad-biking” as they all it here)
- taking pictures (but not having enough bandwidth to post them)
- reading: life of pie, lost masseys, and ethics of identity
2 weeks left of this trip. Then back to bandwidth. Pictures to follow.

"IN CONCLUSION: I am a humorless feminist."

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:57:20 +0100

“IN CONCLUSION: I am a humorless feminist.”

- (via jessicagoldharalson)

Is there any other kind?

Actually it is funny, at least for Canadians. What are they...

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:57:45 +0100

Actually it is funny, at least for Canadians. What are they going to invade with…foreign direct investment?

thillythenny:

mandalay:

(via floodwaters,inky: Married To The Sea)

"Now now, my good man. This is no time to be making enemies."

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 06:09:53 +0100

“Now now, my good man. This is no time to be making enemies.”

- Voltaire on his death bed after being asked by a priest to renounce Satan. (via livejamie)

I heard he said something like “either this wallpaper goes, or I do.”

.some small good news … (via sweet distin)

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:09:05 +0000

.some small good news … (via sweet distin)

"Last week, for the first time in twelve years or so, I misspoke."

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:16:53 +0000

“Last week, for the first time in twelve years or so, I misspoke.”

- Hillary Clinton (via peterwknox) Hillary, we’re through. (via jessicagoldharalson)

I didn’t need much convincing anyways. sigh…

"Degree in hand, loans coming due, the working partner expecting a more fair financial contribution,..."

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:22:08 +0000

“

Degree in hand, loans coming due, the working partner expecting a more fair financial contribution, perhaps the question of children growing relevant, the degree holder asks a question to which the system has no answer: If I have been a splendid teacher and scholar while nondegreed for the past ten years, why am I suddenly unsuitable?

Nearly all of the administrative responses to the degree holder can already be understood as responses to waste: flush it, ship it to the provinces, recycle it through another industry, keep it away from the fresh meat. Unorganized graduate employees and contingent faculty have a tendency to grasp their circumstance incompletely—that is, they feel “treated like shit”—without grasping the systemic reality that they are waste.

”

- How the University Works by Marc Bousquet

Office Writer Recruits Tina Fey to His Side of the Truth

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:54:42 +0000

Office Writer Recruits Tina Fey to His Side of the Truth: Holy amazing comedy combo batman!

Contrariwise, Again (Or: Silly Obama!)

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:16:26 +0000

mills:

romeojulietsierra:

mills:

I can’t wait, although I often wonder and am rarely answered: on what is your non-religious morality based?

EMPATHY.

Empathy is a sensation, not a reason; I feel it, and am a happy atheist; you feel it, and we could be neighbors in a lovely secular country. But what about people who don’t feel it? Not sociopaths, mind you: the many people whose ‘circle of empathy’ (to borrow Carl Sagan’s wonderful phrase) is narrow?

I can’t stay someone’s hand before violence by advising, “Feel empathy, damn you!” I believe in neither damnation nor coercion of feeling. This is the reality of the world; we are not all empathetic.

Those are two different problems. The first is your question, why be (non-religiously) moral? RJS answered but did not elaborate a morality based on empathy, although many have done so throughout the ages (see Kant in particular). The idea that we feel someone else’s pain as our own has been central to liberal philosophy since before the Enlightenment.

The second problem is in your response which suggests that the test by which we measure morality must be that which convinces others not to act in a certain way (in this case violently). But all systems of morality apply only to the individuals who subscribe to them. The test, properly understood, is whether or not that morality convinces me to stop acting violently. In this case, empathy could surely convince me not to act violently towards others.

Modern philosophies of morality have become quite sophisticated, but still retain their roots in some notion of human dignity. A brilliant theory is Amartya Sen’s (in economics) and Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach.