Comments for UP@NIGHT

Comment on Lying is Defended by a Republican National Committee Spokesman by technorican

technorican — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:36:25 +0000

I am reminded of Arizona’s Republican Senator Jon Kyl’s statement last year about Planned Parenthood spending that was “not intended to be a factual statement.” So when RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer said: “… [Verrilli] continually had to stop because he was having trouble making the case for why Obamacare was valid,” that was also #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement.

The real problem seems to be when people adopt the mindset that it is legitimate to make any statement that reinforces their personal beliefs. Everyone is allowed to have their own “opinion.” I was under the impression that even opinion had to have some basis in reality so that discussions can explore reason and learning. However, one dictionary definition states opinion can be “a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter; belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge.” It seems nowadays anything “formed in the mind” is sufficient. I thought that was called fiction: “an assumption of a possibility as a fact irrespective of the question of its truth; a useful illusion or pretense.” Avoid facts because they require “objective reality.” Opinion is acceptable fiction. Therefore, politics and public discourse are now useful illusions with no pretense of facts. I think I see my problem.

(definitions excerpted from Merriam-Webster online dictionary)

Comment on Liberal Arts Boosted by the Big Bang Theory! by dsommer27

dsommer27 — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:23:56 +0000

I am an ENG major who now advises Liberal Arts majors at UNLV and I wish everyone was more like Shelton Cooper.

Comment on U.S.A. 42–Bank of America 0 by Mitchell Aboulafia

Mitchell Aboulafia — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 03:44:36 +0000

Candy,

I am so sorry to hear this. Just awful. It’s a real shame that the government couldn’t step in and help people more in this situation.

Comment on Liberal Arts (and especially Philosophy) Majors: Do Not Despair by Candy Torres

Candy Torres — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 03:28:28 +0000

There is a difference between those who have a dream to work towards and those who want a job. For me, a dream didn’t just define the type of work I wanted to do but why? Was it status? Was it money? What about rising above what people thought Puerto Ricans were capable of? Or women? How I performed my job was also important as well as the interpersonal aspect of work. I believe in sharing information and power, and helping others in achieving their best. I grew up asking myself lots of questions and I love to learn. For some of us, it’s as natural as breathing. Looking at the world today, we seem to need more than ever people who can teach others to breathe.

Comment on U.S.A. 42–Bank of America 0 by Candy Torres

Candy Torres — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:42:27 +0000

WF foreclosed on my house in the same week my younger sister told me she didn’t think she was going to survive the month. She was dying from ALS. BoA took over the house. I went to court twice but I lost. I didn’t get to see my sister shortly before she died. Words cannot express the pain those banks caused that will never leave my heart.

Comment on Confessions of an Obama Supporter by Candy Torres

Candy Torres — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:29:49 +0000

The stated goal of many Republicans is to “make Obama a one-term president.” This is not a statement made by any political official who lives by the oath of office to protect the interest of citizens and country. It is a statement that a bully makes for no purpose other than to proclaim and obtain power over others. Thus, there is no way to negotiate with such a person to achieve a compromise. There are many instances which demonstrate the number of bullies and the variety of destructive tactics they are willing to devise to achieve their goal. It is abuse of power and there is no compromise with an abuser. The President of the United States has been targeted and his response should be to stand for the people. Only then can he follow his Oath of Office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”, which means “the people.” The actions we are seeing are called “workplace bullying.” The difference is that President Obama survives whether he holds office for 1 or 2 terms. The devastating and long-lasting impact will fall upon the people who have already lost jobs, homes, money, and much more.

Comment on Corporations are People: Pillow Fight Time by Candy Torres

Candy Torres — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:06:23 +0000

Mitt Romney misconstrues the intent behind the Supreme Court ruling (2010) that supports corporations’ freedom to fund political broadcasts in elections. It protects their freedom of speech as it would any “natural person.” The Supreme Court ruling was 5-4, which is close and the dissenting views warn of the dangers of the ruling. Judge Stevens wrote: “…the Court’s opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt.”

Obviously, the ruling does not equal “corporations are people.” The common sense of the American people laughed at Romney when he tried his sleight of logic on them. Although much of what a corporation earns goes to human beings, it is a handful compared to those from which it came. Everything corporations earn ultimately comes from people — primarily, the larger element of citizens in the middle-class.

In a pillow fight, if CEOs showed up, they would have their pillows filled with fairy dust to knock out their opponents as a demonstration of their superiority.

Comment on Obama, Spock, and the New Star Trek Nation by technorican

technorican — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:46:45 +0000

Fascinating!
> I became a Trek fan in 1966. I wrote 4 letters to Paramount. I made up 3 sisters to improve the odds.
> I campaigned for George McGovern in New Hampshire when I was 18. I saw him at the debate.
> I met Leonard Nimoy in the 1970s and 1980s at ST conventions and plays. He owns one of my photos.
> I studied under Dr. Aboulafia in Houston. I learned a lot and loved it a lot so I had to sneak it in here.
> I call myself Engineer Torres because I admired the ST Voyager character, the actress has Puerto Rican heritage, and, as a NASA contractor, my title was Staff Engineer. Torres is my real name. The International Space Station support team was likened to the Starship Enterprise, which would mean I worked in the back room like Engineering. It’s my brand (I don’t like the term. Being in Texas, it has a painful connotation.
> I can’t seem to come up with an Obama connection.

Comment on UP@NIGHT foils Republican Campaign Trick by technorican

technorican — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:24:26 +0000

I am reminded of Senator Chuck Schumer’s explanation as to why New York City should receive a space shuttle and not Houston. To paraphrase: “Many people who worked in the space shuttle program came from New York. Therefore, we should have one.” He comments were extremely rude towards Houston and that we should get over it. Everyone wants to go to New York. Who wants to go to Houston?

#1 Does he realize that Houston was founded by the Allen brothers from New York? I feel like Schumer spit on his child. Shouldn’t he be proud that many people came to or were born in NYC and then spread their skills across the country?

#2 Can we expect a portion of Houston to be floated off the island of Manhattan? (No, Houston Street doesn’t count. Not only is it not pronounced the same but it has nothing to do with Sam Houston.) Will there be a hook descending upon Houston to grab unemployed space shuttle workers (who came from New York) for placement in museum exhibits as proof of New York’s superiority?

#3 On the other hand Texas Governor Rick Perry wants our state to secede from the republic for which he is considering running as a presidential candidate. I request that Perry be removed from Texas… well, that’s all I care about. New York City can have him. There is no way he could survive there.

Although I was born in Manhattan and live in Houston, I give them both a Bronx cheer. After all, I did spend the first 5 years of my life in a housing project there so I earned the right to give them a genuine one.

P.S. Why is NASA-JSC being picked apart: no space shuttle plus we’re losing the high-fidelity space shuttle mock-up the simulator? 2000 people are losing their jobs.

Comment on upnight.com by technorican

technorican — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 06:16:19 +0000

Your response is a non-sequitor in this blog.

What is your evidence to support that statement?
How did Obama get enrolled in schools throughout his life?
How is his document different from every other president?
Fact: He is the President of the United States so how did that happen?