Sports in the USA is almost as much of a problem as guns, however no one talks about the problems caused by sports. Forgetting, for the moment, the riots that have always benn common, arenas are the more common problem.
While there is an appearance of sales increase for a handful of businesses, the profits are negligible. Most arena denizens know that they are spending a fortune for their vice, so they withhold most of the money to spend at the arena.
The prices of arena vendors are artificially inflated, by the high rent they must pay for their location. These prices are set by the the owner of the arena, however the vendors must also pay fees to the sports team, and the league organization.
This results in a huge increase of the price, a product that costs one dollar to produce will cost the consumer up to 25 USD, even food and beverage. To reduce competition, the arenas banned all outside food and drink, even if it is necessary for health, to make it worse, the city government and law enforcement allow them to do that.
This forces the arena denizens to spend a fortune on even their own needs, and discourages them from spending in the city that collects almost no taxes from these sales. Fees from the sports organizations are not taxed, none of their profits goes into the city at all, this includes ticket sales.
Now, the biggest part of this problem, in downtown Seattle we see this most, once the game starts there is no parking for any actual customers, none. The streets are bare, save the few brave and healthy individuals who live in the city itself.
This covers the largest portion of profitable business hours for local businesses, especially in Pioneer Square. Prior to the game, the arena denizens use the facilities of local businesses here, making a huge mess, without ever buying anything, and that costs the businesses money which they cannot recuperate because there is no parking for any actual customers.
The rowdiness of the crowds also discourages actual shoppers, as arena denizens are freakishly violent, unruly, and truly disgusting. The city pays for all of this, fronting the bill for cleanup and policing, while businesses fail because of it.
Our city counsel ignores this problem, as they are probably getting handouts from the sports organizations, then they wonder why Pioneer Square is not revitalizing. These two arenas hold games all year long, the noise and air pollution, also the litter and urine, are a serious problem here because of these people.
The local bars do not produce as many belligerent and violent people as the sports arena does. Pioneer Square reeks of urine after every game, and the homeless get blamed for it.
As these arena denizens leave their game, they crowd the streets, scream, yell, blast obnoxious music at ear splitting volumes, and intimidate every possible customer in the area. The insult to this injury is that most do not even live in the city.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Friday, October 2, 2015
Gun Sense is wrong ... and Right
The problem with many people is that they conflate an increase in available information with an increase in presence of phenomena described by the information. This comes from our old mindset, a time before the world wide internet.
So let's take a trip to a time before information was free, as in freely expressed, transmitted, and viewable. Back to the age I grew up in, the 1980s and early 1990s.
Prior to to that age, information came even slower due to a lack of outlets, before that it was even slower due to a lack of media. Remember, most of our modern technology was not available 20 years ago, and it was very expensive to own even a clunky 8-bit computer with no modem.
A modem, for those too young to remember, was required to connect to the few BBS systems available using a telephone. Each modern website would be an entire BBS, and to change to a different "website" you had to hang up, then dial a new phone number.
Any information about current events, government activities, even scientific advances came to us filtered by the ruby lenses of the mainstream media. An outlet of information that is only for profit, and it is censored by the very government who is invested in keeping the masses quiet and uninformed.
As for science, scientific research was discouraged, and businesses kept it from the masses, a monopolized collection of information which was accessible only by corporate elites. Today the scientific community is very pleased that this is no longer the case, which is why we see more advances in both science and technology.
Fast forwarding to today, all of us who grew up in the last 3 or 4 decades are now seeing 300% more information. Ultimately, this has been called "information overload," the result is an illusion of increased events, phenomena, and occurrences.
The reality is that the information is increasing, while most of what that information describes is remaining the same. Mass shootings are the perfect example, there is no actual increase in these shootings.
We are, however, getting live feeds from every one of the shootings now. There is a natural shift in such events, depending on public state in a specific locale, which can cause an increase or decrease based the environment and social climate.
The social climate is usually the primary cause for these changes, but not the primary reason for the event. The reasons for the events are often a separate issue.
So let's take a trip to a time before information was free, as in freely expressed, transmitted, and viewable. Back to the age I grew up in, the 1980s and early 1990s.
Prior to to that age, information came even slower due to a lack of outlets, before that it was even slower due to a lack of media. Remember, most of our modern technology was not available 20 years ago, and it was very expensive to own even a clunky 8-bit computer with no modem.
A modem, for those too young to remember, was required to connect to the few BBS systems available using a telephone. Each modern website would be an entire BBS, and to change to a different "website" you had to hang up, then dial a new phone number.
Any information about current events, government activities, even scientific advances came to us filtered by the ruby lenses of the mainstream media. An outlet of information that is only for profit, and it is censored by the very government who is invested in keeping the masses quiet and uninformed.
As for science, scientific research was discouraged, and businesses kept it from the masses, a monopolized collection of information which was accessible only by corporate elites. Today the scientific community is very pleased that this is no longer the case, which is why we see more advances in both science and technology.
Fast forwarding to today, all of us who grew up in the last 3 or 4 decades are now seeing 300% more information. Ultimately, this has been called "information overload," the result is an illusion of increased events, phenomena, and occurrences.
The reality is that the information is increasing, while most of what that information describes is remaining the same. Mass shootings are the perfect example, there is no actual increase in these shootings.
We are, however, getting live feeds from every one of the shootings now. There is a natural shift in such events, depending on public state in a specific locale, which can cause an increase or decrease based the environment and social climate.
The social climate is usually the primary cause for these changes, but not the primary reason for the event. The reasons for the events are often a separate issue.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
The Responsibility of Guns
When gun violence plagues this country you get two reaction, one side cries for more regulations, the other cries about the first using an example as an example. The fact is, all tragedy is an example of where we must improve.
Regulations can help alleviate problems, so long as the regulations are reasonable and demonstrably effective. One great idea is better enforcement of background checks and psychological evaluations.
Neither of these harm anyone, we know they will reduce the number of criminals who can legally obtain a weapon, they will also reduce the number of weapons in the hands of potentially dangerous individuals. As a side effect, we will see a reduction in guns available for theft.
One factor ignored by the faux-right is that more guns means more opportunity for those guns to be stolen from irresponsible owners. Addendum that could be added is that if you had a weapon stolen from you, you are considered irresponsible and not allowed one.
This would reduce the number of illegally obtainable weapons, by reducing the number of guns in the hands of the gun owners that are giving all gun owners a bad name. The sad part of this, the responsible gun owners are being punished for the acts of irresponsible gun owners because of a lack of regulation.
Every time a legally obtained gun is used in a crime, the responsible gun owners all look bad, the entire industry looks bad. Yet somehow, responsible gun owners have been convinced that the regulations would hurt them instead.
Regulations can help alleviate problems, so long as the regulations are reasonable and demonstrably effective. One great idea is better enforcement of background checks and psychological evaluations.
Neither of these harm anyone, we know they will reduce the number of criminals who can legally obtain a weapon, they will also reduce the number of weapons in the hands of potentially dangerous individuals. As a side effect, we will see a reduction in guns available for theft.
One factor ignored by the faux-right is that more guns means more opportunity for those guns to be stolen from irresponsible owners. Addendum that could be added is that if you had a weapon stolen from you, you are considered irresponsible and not allowed one.
This would reduce the number of illegally obtainable weapons, by reducing the number of guns in the hands of the gun owners that are giving all gun owners a bad name. The sad part of this, the responsible gun owners are being punished for the acts of irresponsible gun owners because of a lack of regulation.
Every time a legally obtained gun is used in a crime, the responsible gun owners all look bad, the entire industry looks bad. Yet somehow, responsible gun owners have been convinced that the regulations would hurt them instead.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Moderate Christian, Muslim, Judaism
The problem atheist people face most is the "what about these guys" red herring. When pointing out the flaws in one delusion, someone always has to say something like "at least it's not as bad as these other guys."
This is a fallacious red herring used only to avoid responsibility, all religions are delusions and all delusions are bad. The primary reason is that indoctrinating their children is abusive.
Dragging kids through church, or any religious practice, is child abuse, plain and simple. It is indoctrinating them, forcing them to pretend they believe the nonsense until their sanity breaks and all doubts vanish.
Ask a child of ten who was raised without religion to read one bible story, then ask what they think about it. You will always get the same reactions us atheist people have, it's just some poorly written and unbelievable story.
Religion is also inherently tribalism, it requires you oppress, ridicule, even actively oppose anyone different. If it does not do these things, the religion fades into obscurity, as we are seeing happen to the pagan religions who have modernized.
Another red herring is the "moderate" comparison, which is as fallacious as the no true Scotsman fallacy. People who claim to follow a doctrine can be judged by said doctrine, if such a doctrine commands them to kill someone but they claim that it's just a metaphor, they are leaving it open for reinterpretation later, like a bookmark for future reference to justify killing someone.
So there is no such thing as a "moderate" in religion, the doctrine is there, it offers them an excuse to revert to barbaric behaviors, so they can be judged based on that doctrine. This holds true for all religions, even Muslims.
Pagans have simplified their doctrine to possess only one basic principle, don't hurt other beings. It is because of this simple doctrine that we cannot judge the modern pagans harshly, it is also why the religions are vanishing.
The old doctrines of pagans were as horrible as all the modern Abrahamic religions, full of human sacrifices, torture, commands for war, excuses for vile acts. But unlike the the gods of Abraham, the pagans never claimed it was unchanging, so they modernized and improved.
Christians and Muslims still claim their god is unchanging, so does Judaism, and their doctrine still contains commands and excuses for horrible acts. So yes, I will judge them all based on the doctrine they claim to follow even if they currently ignore the horrible stuff.
This is a fallacious red herring used only to avoid responsibility, all religions are delusions and all delusions are bad. The primary reason is that indoctrinating their children is abusive.
Dragging kids through church, or any religious practice, is child abuse, plain and simple. It is indoctrinating them, forcing them to pretend they believe the nonsense until their sanity breaks and all doubts vanish.
Ask a child of ten who was raised without religion to read one bible story, then ask what they think about it. You will always get the same reactions us atheist people have, it's just some poorly written and unbelievable story.
Religion is also inherently tribalism, it requires you oppress, ridicule, even actively oppose anyone different. If it does not do these things, the religion fades into obscurity, as we are seeing happen to the pagan religions who have modernized.
Another red herring is the "moderate" comparison, which is as fallacious as the no true Scotsman fallacy. People who claim to follow a doctrine can be judged by said doctrine, if such a doctrine commands them to kill someone but they claim that it's just a metaphor, they are leaving it open for reinterpretation later, like a bookmark for future reference to justify killing someone.
So there is no such thing as a "moderate" in religion, the doctrine is there, it offers them an excuse to revert to barbaric behaviors, so they can be judged based on that doctrine. This holds true for all religions, even Muslims.
Pagans have simplified their doctrine to possess only one basic principle, don't hurt other beings. It is because of this simple doctrine that we cannot judge the modern pagans harshly, it is also why the religions are vanishing.
The old doctrines of pagans were as horrible as all the modern Abrahamic religions, full of human sacrifices, torture, commands for war, excuses for vile acts. But unlike the the gods of Abraham, the pagans never claimed it was unchanging, so they modernized and improved.
Christians and Muslims still claim their god is unchanging, so does Judaism, and their doctrine still contains commands and excuses for horrible acts. So yes, I will judge them all based on the doctrine they claim to follow even if they currently ignore the horrible stuff.
Marijuana Woes in Washington
I have a friend who is currently fighting a system of corruption. His story is not unique, but seeing the stress it causes him encouraged me to type a blog post on the subject.
As everyone should know, Washington made pot "legal," by removing the ban on it's consumption. Recently the state changed the regulations of processing and sales of the plant, but established operations were allowed to work under the old regulations until further notice.
That notice did not come with legal counsel, or representation, instead it came with a gun and a badge. The police of his city defied the laws and took matters into their own hands, ruining his legitimate operation.
He was not making millions of dollars selling pot to recreational smokers, this operation was offering the plant and chemicals extracted from it to people who were in need for very low prices.
He extracted CBDs from the plant for some, a promising new field of research shows that these can help fight cancer. He also sold the plant to people who suffered from hyperactive and eating disorders, THC has a known benefit for such cases.
His only crime was undercutting the state's profits. Ironically, he's a conservative and he use to be a patriot, perhaps he'll open his eyes now.
Because he did not actually break any laws, the courts are trying to prosecute him with simple misdemeanors. He does have a chance to change the political landscape though, and he's going to try to sue for damages.
His lawyer appears to believe there is a case for damages, but seeing the stress begin to take it's toll on him worries me. So I want to tell his story before it hits the media spin machine, before the lies compound his problems.
He is not a bad person, not a drug pusher. He only tried to help the only way he knew how.
As everyone should know, Washington made pot "legal," by removing the ban on it's consumption. Recently the state changed the regulations of processing and sales of the plant, but established operations were allowed to work under the old regulations until further notice.
That notice did not come with legal counsel, or representation, instead it came with a gun and a badge. The police of his city defied the laws and took matters into their own hands, ruining his legitimate operation.
He was not making millions of dollars selling pot to recreational smokers, this operation was offering the plant and chemicals extracted from it to people who were in need for very low prices.
He extracted CBDs from the plant for some, a promising new field of research shows that these can help fight cancer. He also sold the plant to people who suffered from hyperactive and eating disorders, THC has a known benefit for such cases.
His only crime was undercutting the state's profits. Ironically, he's a conservative and he use to be a patriot, perhaps he'll open his eyes now.
Because he did not actually break any laws, the courts are trying to prosecute him with simple misdemeanors. He does have a chance to change the political landscape though, and he's going to try to sue for damages.
His lawyer appears to believe there is a case for damages, but seeing the stress begin to take it's toll on him worries me. So I want to tell his story before it hits the media spin machine, before the lies compound his problems.
He is not a bad person, not a drug pusher. He only tried to help the only way he knew how.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Social Animals
When I adopted Pepper, I went to the Humane Society with no expectations, the most I had was the name of one cat who they were having trouble getting adopted. That one was, luckily, just adopted hours before I showed up.
So I just hung out with the cats there, when I first entered one cat came directly up to me, begging for affection. Another came to me, head bumped my leg, then disappeared.
Unfortunately, the first one was bonded, and I was using the bus for transportation. So I went back into the room, and dug through the records to find which ones were not bonded.
I found one that had been declawed, a horrible procedure that amputates part of the cat's paws, I almost adopted him out of sympathy but knew he would be in high demand for a household with young kids. So I continued my search.
Most were from bad homes, abused an neglected, torn away from their lives and discarded like toys. You could see in their faces that they were just begging for it all to end, a nightmare for any animal.
Then I found the one that had head bumped me, she was so depressed she had just curled up into a ball and watched everyone from a high vantage point. It was as if she had given up completely.
She had no friends, no family, and her previous homes obviously did nothing to help her confidence. She was terrified of the world around her, and only knew that there was something about my scent that was familiar.
Her name was Pepper, and I just wanted to cuddle her. So she came home with me, frightened of the cat carrier itself, even scared of the people around us.
She tried to pry the door open, until we got on the bus. Something about the bus lulled her a bit, she calmed but was still on high alert.
I spoke to her the entire time, letting her know that I was there the whole trip. When we got home, she was so glad to be out of the carrier she did not hesitate to explore her new home.
During that first year I learned of her problems, ironic that she suffers from the same psychological issues I had, the reason she was adopted. But I needed to start working, and that meant being gone for long periods of time, and she did not like being left alone.
I'd find her in her cowering locations, curled up under the bed in the farthest corner or in the kitchen cabinet. It broke my heart to see her scared, and did nothing to help my own problems, but you can't just trade them in, she was with me forever now.
There is a saying, "cats come in pairs," and after wracking my brain I finally decided the only solution was to get her a friend to keep her company. The problem came from the fact that she was not friendly with adult cats, and I don't actually like babies of any species.
For me to be healthy, she needed to be healthy, so I bit the bullet and started searching for a suitable kitten. The idea was that if she didn't like the kitten, it would be easier to get the kitten adopted out.
I also knew that if she did like the kitten, she could train them to coexist with her better than an adult cat. So I took a chance, and found little Rhodey, I named him to keep the Iron Man theme.
She first regarded him with fearful curiosity, but eventually she learned that I was not going to hurt her for standing up to the little runt. He did have to learn manners, and who better to teach him than another cat.
After only a few months, they are inseparable, and now the little runt also has a place in my heart. The changes I have seen in Pepper are amazing, she has more confidence, rarely cowers, and even came out on her own to meet a neighbor.
Ironically, Rhodey doesn't like other cats either, but he is more aggressive than Pepper. Rhodey is more courageous and willing to try new things, like go for walks outside on the leash.
With these two in my life, I am now beginning to socialize in a beneficial way, making contacts to earn a reputation as a marketing consultant. A talent I didn't even realize I had, but a friend I recently met recognized it.
This is what it means to be a "social species," unlike what psychiatrists have told us, we need to be social with other species. By socializing with other species we are able to socialize with our own better, ask any psychologist.
So I just hung out with the cats there, when I first entered one cat came directly up to me, begging for affection. Another came to me, head bumped my leg, then disappeared.
Unfortunately, the first one was bonded, and I was using the bus for transportation. So I went back into the room, and dug through the records to find which ones were not bonded.
I found one that had been declawed, a horrible procedure that amputates part of the cat's paws, I almost adopted him out of sympathy but knew he would be in high demand for a household with young kids. So I continued my search.
Most were from bad homes, abused an neglected, torn away from their lives and discarded like toys. You could see in their faces that they were just begging for it all to end, a nightmare for any animal.
Then I found the one that had head bumped me, she was so depressed she had just curled up into a ball and watched everyone from a high vantage point. It was as if she had given up completely.
She had no friends, no family, and her previous homes obviously did nothing to help her confidence. She was terrified of the world around her, and only knew that there was something about my scent that was familiar.
Her name was Pepper, and I just wanted to cuddle her. So she came home with me, frightened of the cat carrier itself, even scared of the people around us.
She tried to pry the door open, until we got on the bus. Something about the bus lulled her a bit, she calmed but was still on high alert.
I spoke to her the entire time, letting her know that I was there the whole trip. When we got home, she was so glad to be out of the carrier she did not hesitate to explore her new home.
During that first year I learned of her problems, ironic that she suffers from the same psychological issues I had, the reason she was adopted. But I needed to start working, and that meant being gone for long periods of time, and she did not like being left alone.
I'd find her in her cowering locations, curled up under the bed in the farthest corner or in the kitchen cabinet. It broke my heart to see her scared, and did nothing to help my own problems, but you can't just trade them in, she was with me forever now.
There is a saying, "cats come in pairs," and after wracking my brain I finally decided the only solution was to get her a friend to keep her company. The problem came from the fact that she was not friendly with adult cats, and I don't actually like babies of any species.
For me to be healthy, she needed to be healthy, so I bit the bullet and started searching for a suitable kitten. The idea was that if she didn't like the kitten, it would be easier to get the kitten adopted out.
I also knew that if she did like the kitten, she could train them to coexist with her better than an adult cat. So I took a chance, and found little Rhodey, I named him to keep the Iron Man theme.
She first regarded him with fearful curiosity, but eventually she learned that I was not going to hurt her for standing up to the little runt. He did have to learn manners, and who better to teach him than another cat.
After only a few months, they are inseparable, and now the little runt also has a place in my heart. The changes I have seen in Pepper are amazing, she has more confidence, rarely cowers, and even came out on her own to meet a neighbor.
Ironically, Rhodey doesn't like other cats either, but he is more aggressive than Pepper. Rhodey is more courageous and willing to try new things, like go for walks outside on the leash.
With these two in my life, I am now beginning to socialize in a beneficial way, making contacts to earn a reputation as a marketing consultant. A talent I didn't even realize I had, but a friend I recently met recognized it.
This is what it means to be a "social species," unlike what psychiatrists have told us, we need to be social with other species. By socializing with other species we are able to socialize with our own better, ask any psychologist.
Abortion Is Murder
Now that the videos which the anti-choice idiots were debunked so thoroughly, the goal posts have been shifted. Not a big surprise, but the new posts are so easy to debunk it's pathetic.
They claim "human lives" are killed by abortion, but getting them to define "human life" offers fuel for mockery. Often they will define it as "a living organism with human DNA," which actually includes sperm, every organ, eggs, and even tumors.
Tumors are the key to this, they are a parasitic organism, by definition, which is made up of human DNA, specifically the DNA of the one suffering from them. In essence, the tumor is exactly like the fetus, the fetus only develops to a stage that allows it to, eventually, become self reliant and sentient.
Scientifically, every cell is a living organism, even the cells in a tumor. So they are forced to redefine what life is, often they will jump to life being sentient. The vast majority of life on Earth is not sentient, viruses and bacteria still dominate the planet.
Sentience does not begin until the brain begins recording and processing the surrounding world. It does not actually appear fully sentient for several months in humans.
Yes, the brain is where we actually are, every cell in the body is it's own organism, but the individual is the collective responses of the brain. The heart is just another colony of living organisms, symbiotic association to the rest of the body.
Each organ is a colony of single celled animals working together, symbiotically working with all other organs. The brain is the most vital organ, it is you, the rest can be replaced without killing you.
This throws a monkey wrench into the entire anti-choice platform, reducing them to religious claims and pseudoscience. So yes, abortion is killing it is not murder, but it is no different than removing any other organ that becomes parasitic.
They claim "human lives" are killed by abortion, but getting them to define "human life" offers fuel for mockery. Often they will define it as "a living organism with human DNA," which actually includes sperm, every organ, eggs, and even tumors.
Tumors are the key to this, they are a parasitic organism, by definition, which is made up of human DNA, specifically the DNA of the one suffering from them. In essence, the tumor is exactly like the fetus, the fetus only develops to a stage that allows it to, eventually, become self reliant and sentient.
Scientifically, every cell is a living organism, even the cells in a tumor. So they are forced to redefine what life is, often they will jump to life being sentient. The vast majority of life on Earth is not sentient, viruses and bacteria still dominate the planet.
Sentience does not begin until the brain begins recording and processing the surrounding world. It does not actually appear fully sentient for several months in humans.
Yes, the brain is where we actually are, every cell in the body is it's own organism, but the individual is the collective responses of the brain. The heart is just another colony of living organisms, symbiotic association to the rest of the body.
Each organ is a colony of single celled animals working together, symbiotically working with all other organs. The brain is the most vital organ, it is you, the rest can be replaced without killing you.
This throws a monkey wrench into the entire anti-choice platform, reducing them to religious claims and pseudoscience. So yes, abortion is killing it is not murder, but it is no different than removing any other organ that becomes parasitic.
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