tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163666682009-11-14T16:15:06.269-05:00Various and sundry topics: sometimes serious, but often not; often political, sometimes not; sometimes provocative, usually not; usually humble, occasionally not; but always me.Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-38310049526960015802008-02-22T19:51:00.003-05:002008-02-22T21:30:03.044-05:00

Things move amazingly fast these days, accelerated by the power of the Internet and an engaged populace. As an example, consider the story about relaxed security at a Barack Obama campaign event in Dallas.It surfaced for the first time, apparently, yesterday morning (!) in the pages of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Quickly picked up by various small bloggers, and then circulated to the masses by

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-59226541364457099712008-02-04T03:57:00.000-05:002008-02-04T04:03:21.130-05:00

Hope Steffey's night started with a call to police for help. It ended with her face down, naked, and sobbing on a jail cell floor. Now, the sheriff's deputies from Stark County, Ohio who allegedly used excessive force during a strip search 15 months ago face a federal lawsuit, and this recently released video won’t help their case.What's happening to our country??!Tags: Politics

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-87029700122005499402006-12-31T07:28:00.000-05:002006-12-31T08:11:16.300-05:00

Ever since the first time I saw Take the Money and Run or Bananas back when I was in high school, I've been a big fan of Woody Allen. He was that rare triple threat, a guy who could write, direct, and star in his own films -- and do all three brilliantly.When Annie Hall came out in 1977, I knew that something had changed. No longer just aces at making funny movies, Woody was now one of our great

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1167050141362219622006-12-25T07:32:00.000-05:002006-12-25T07:35:41.383-05:00

It's Christmas Day 2006, and:An overwhelming number of Britons believe religion does more harm than good while non-believers outnumber believers by nearly two to one, an ICM poll has suggested. Eighty-two percent said they saw religion as a cause of division and tension between people compared to 16 percent who disagreed. Sixty-three percent said they were not religious; 33 percent said they were

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1166553598959813062006-12-19T13:09:00.000-05:002006-12-19T13:39:59.036-05:00

Jamais Cascio, channeling Paul Kedrosky, asks:"What one sentence would you tell the future?"The response is supposed to focus on each person's area of expertise, whether it is politics, engineering, cooking, or whatever.I've thought about whether I should say something specifically about nanotechnology, such as "When we achieve the ability to engineer functional systems at the molecular scale,

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1163009878531722032006-11-08T13:12:00.000-05:002006-11-08T13:24:49.256-05:00

My first grandchild, Rachel, was born on Monday, November 6th, in Houston, Texas. Mother and baby are doing just fine. Isn't she beautiful?

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1162391143659094382006-11-01T09:25:00.000-05:002006-11-01T09:25:43.660-05:00

Pro Waterboarding?If I found out my government was torturing people, and I turned on the TV to hear what the Media was saying about it and all I heard was "I'm Pro torture" - I'd be mighty pissed.Had enough yet?

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1162390969747185862006-11-01T09:22:00.000-05:002006-11-01T09:22:49.873-05:00

Republican Senator's Staff Assaults Marine Vet [VIDEO]What kind of country is it when a Senator's constituent is assaulted for asking difficult and uncomfortable questions? What freedoms do we have left?Somebody needs to take a stand against those that would bully and intimidate their fellow citizens.Mike Stark is taking a stand. Bravo!

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1161372686001264622006-10-20T15:31:00.000-04:002006-10-20T15:34:51.416-04:00

This is from an item titled "War, What Is It Good For?" at the blog Eschaton:What I'm about to write isn't especially insightful, but given that our foreign policy debate these days is almost entirely played out between people who think wars are really great and those who think wars are like totally awesome, perhaps it needs to be said.There's this attitude out there where one's foreign policy

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1160912422718497182006-10-15T07:27:00.000-04:002006-10-15T07:40:22.733-04:00

From this:To this:In less than 60 seconds. An amazing demonstration of the power of perception, via makeup, photography, and photoshop. But which girl is really prettier?

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1160746669024017242006-10-13T09:37:00.000-04:002006-10-13T09:37:49.123-04:00

From Scientific American (via Daily Kos):What Would Happen To Earth If Humanity Ceased To Exist?Fascinating!

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1160669974105138532006-10-12T12:16:00.000-04:002006-10-12T12:21:54.566-04:00

Word:The detention of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay is unacceptable and counterproductive, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Thursday, underlining an increasingly critical British line on the U.S. camp in Cuba.Beckett, releasing Britain's annual report on human rights around the world, said that detention without trial of hundreds of suspects was "unacceptable in terms of human

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1156436909793645682006-08-24T12:28:00.000-04:002006-08-24T12:28:29.853-04:00

For all of my life, and the lives of almost everyone living today, students have been taught that our solar system had nine planets. Now, that has changed. PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight. After a tumultuous week of clashing over the

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1155438691273900222006-08-12T23:11:00.000-04:002006-08-12T23:11:31.436-04:00

From Think Progress:A comparison of peoples’ views in 34 countries finds that the United States ranks near the bottom when it comes to public acceptance of evolution. Only Turkey ranked lower.” Yes!! The US public is less ignorant than Turkey!! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!! Er, I mean, WE'RE NUMBER, UM, 33.....One major factor: politics. “Major political parties in the United States are more willing to

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1154709772593937072006-08-04T12:38:00.000-04:002006-08-04T12:43:49.426-04:00

My daughter, Aria, who was married earlier this year and is expecting her first child (and my first grandchild!) in November. Isn't she beautiful?

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1154616259348922022006-08-03T10:18:00.000-04:002006-08-03T10:46:11.010-04:00

Would any reasonable, educated person oppose any of this? We are committed to democratic norms, procedures and structures — freedom of opinion and assembly, free elections, the separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers, and the separation of state and religion. We value the traditions and institutions, the legacy of good governance, of those countries in which liberal, pluralist

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1154533170850497902006-08-02T11:33:00.000-04:002006-08-02T11:39:30.866-04:00

By nature I'm an optimist, nearly always seeing the glass as half full. During the past week, I've enjoyed a couple of very pleasant sleeping dreams that reinforce my commitment to and belief in the value of harmony and clarity.In one dream, I was sitting in a cafe full of strangers when someone started humming a tune. I liked the tune and began harmonizing with it, almost unconsciously. To my

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1154460564125238312006-08-01T15:26:00.000-04:002006-08-01T15:29:24.143-04:00

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1154265668628375822006-07-30T09:21:00.000-04:002006-07-30T09:31:25.623-04:00

Following are excerpts from an interview with Arab-American psychiatrist Wafa Sultan. The interview was aired on Al-Jazeera TV on February 21, 2006The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1154033201142754272006-07-27T16:46:00.000-04:002006-07-27T16:49:48.463-04:00

This is disgusting.From MyDD: How to Rig Elections:In March 2001, Republicans held a five-seat majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Because of its massive size, California would account for 53 seats in the House--or almost one out of every eight seats. Political junkies across the nation eagerly waited to see whether California--where Democrats controlled the state assembly--would

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1153409586218356322006-07-20T11:15:00.000-04:002006-07-20T21:18:28.473-04:00

SING ALONG! "One of the these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong..."Iraqi police find 38 tortured dead bodies around BaghdadPolice in Baghdad recovered 38 bodies across the Iraqi capital during a 24-hour period ending Thursday morning. All showed signs of torture.Republican Congressman Gutknecht gives grim assessment"The condition there is worse than I expected,

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1152672704681755102006-07-11T22:42:00.000-04:002006-07-11T22:52:26.846-04:00

A-ha!! I've always thought there was something bogus about restaurants charging $5 or whatever for plain old water in a bottle. It's especially annoying to me when you ask for a glass of water and then they bring you a fancy bottle and expect you to pay for it!So I was delighted to see this wickedly funny video expose'...

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1152039117571862152006-07-04T14:47:00.000-04:002006-07-04T14:56:42.870-04:00

So, I took this Internet quiz to determine my style of Ethical Philosophy. Who do I compare most closely to? Imagine my surprise: 1. Kant (100%) 2. Jean-Paul Sartre (79%) 3. John Stuart Mill (76%) 4. Prescriptivism (65%) 5. Jeremy Bentham (60%) 6. Ayn Rand (53%) 7. Epicureans (43%) 8. Stoics (39%) 9. Nel Noddings (34%) 10. Aquinas (33%) 11. David Hume

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1151495877012345842006-06-28T07:57:00.000-04:002006-06-28T07:57:57.260-04:00

With a tip o' the hat to Jan-Willem Bats, let's find out about the car of the future.GM has built a revolutionary car called the Hy-wire. It's an amazing piece of machinery.It has no pedals, but is entirely hand-operated. It rides on a fuel cell, and the engine is a flat block which basically forms the bottom of the car. The body of the car can be modified in half an hour.Watch the video here (

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366668.post-1151325390877812462006-06-26T08:36:00.000-04:002006-06-26T08:43:09.443-04:00

When it comes to traditional conceptions of God, I'm not a religious person. In fact, I'm an atheist, a non-believer in a supernatural supreme being. I prefer to describe myself as an existential humanist, because that provides a positive underpinning for my dedication to finding and doing the right thing.I spend a lot of time thinking and writing on the ideas of right and wrong, on how we can

Mike Trederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10600838775038267938noreply@blogger.com1