Are YOU ready for disaster? Part 1 of 5 - Assess your risks!

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Friday September 09, 2005 · 2:02 PM PDT

2005/09/09 · 14:02

(From the diaries -- Plutonium Page. Very practical. Bookmark this one.)

Something bad is going to happen, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

Preparing to deal with a disaster is like going off of a ski jump. If you put off your planning until things start happening, it's far too late to make much of a difference. Once you're headed down that ski jump, the time for planning and preparation is over.

On the other hand, being prepared for disaster does not have to be time-consuming or expensive. In this multi-part series of DailyKos Diaries, I will share with you, dear reader, many of the lessons I've learned regarding the most effective ways to prepare for an emergency. Read More

I've raised $9345 for the Red Cross today

AlphaGeek

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday September 01, 2005 · 4:14 PM PDT

2005/09/01 · 16:14

In the last 18 hours, I've raised over $7000 for the Red Cross. See how after the jump.

Update [2005-9-1 19:27:9 by AlphaGeek]: The fundraising summary I sent out to company-wide prompted a new wave of donations. The total is now over $9300. Read More

Hurricane Katrina relief: donate effectively!

AlphaGeek

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday September 01, 2005 · 1:41 AM PDT

2005/09/01 · 01:41

If you are considering a donation to the American Red Cross or to Habitat For Humanity you can make your dollars (or Euros, or rubles, or whatever) work twice as hard.

Details below the fold. Read More

Is slavery ever funny?

AlphaGeek

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday July 16, 2005 · 11:59 AM PDT

2005/07/16 · 11:59

One of my kids attends Bay Aerials Gymnastics in Fremont, CA on Saturday mornings. The faces you see there represent the cultural diversity of my community -- black, white, Indian, Asian... you name the cultural group, you'll see it represented there.

I was startled and dismayed to see this sign posted on the low wall facing the parents' benches:

...continued... Read More

Larry Diamond on Democracy in Iraq

AlphaGeek

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Thursday June 30, 2005 · 12:05 PM PDT

2005/06/30 · 12:05

The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), hosts a weekly open-to-the-public seminar series called PARC Forum. Speaking topics are usually highly technical and guaranteed to stretch your brain. This week was a little different: the invited speaker was Larry Diamond, PoliSci & sociology professor at Stanford, and fouding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy.

I took extensive notes during Professor Diamond's talk, although I should warn the reader that I have no formal (or informal!) journalism training. Hopefully the rough edges of my account will not detract from the message that Prof. Diamond was trying to convey.

Much, much more after the break.

Update [2005-7-1 19:45:49 by AlphaGeek]: Larry Diamond's presentation at PARC is now available as a downloadable MP3 or as streaming video. Read More

Theocracy: USAF Academy religious discrimination report

AlphaGeek

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday June 22, 2005 · 4:29 PM PDT

2005/06/22 · 16:29

Today, the US Air Force announced the release of the report on their investigation into religious discrimination at the USAF Academy in Colorado. The results were unsurprising: rather than focus on the very significant culture issues surrounding overt Christianity in the Academy, the USAF brass focused instead on a handful of actionable instances of discrimination.

In closely related news: USAF Capt. MeLinda S. Morton, the Academy chaplain removed from her position earlier this year for whistleblowing, resigned her commission yesterday in advance of the release of the report. It's my belief that she did so after reviewing a final copy of the report and concluding that she would not be able to make headway in reforming the Academy.

For those of you not familiar with the story, numerous allegations have surfaced that the USAF Academy is dominated (Dominionated?) by overtly proselytizing evangelical Christians. It's no coincidence that wingnut James Dobson's operation is headquartered in Colorado Springs, a stone's throw from the Academy.

Continued after the break. Read More

Even the XM DJs are getting angry

AlphaGeek

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 18, 2005 · 3:20 PM PDT

2005/05/18 · 15:20

I listen to channel 48 ("SquiZZ") on XM satellite radio at work -- it's a commercial-free hard rock station that beats anything I've EVER heard on FM radio.

Sometimes the DJs make comments about current events on the air, though they generally tend to avoid political stuff. (They had plenty to say about the plane over DC last week, though.) As I was listening just now, Bodhi, the program director and mid-day DJ for XM48, said:

I was just reading the CNN website, and it says they want to close 150 military bases.

You know what? I think they should start with all of the bases in the Middle East.

Right on, Bodhi. You tell 'em.

SquiZZ reaches a diverse range of listeners, and I'm sure that he's going to get some blowback from people who have been bamboozled into supporting the Republicans. Please take a moment let him know you agree with him, and that he should ask anyone who criticizes his statement when they're planning to enlist:

squizz@xmradio.com
1.866.6SQUIZZ (1.866.677.8499)

'Daily Show' Funnyman Ted Hitler Gets Show

AlphaGeek

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 03, 2005 · 5:36 PM PDT

2005/05/03 · 17:36

In what I consider an extremely encouraging sign for the continued success of liberal television programming, Comedy Central has just announced that Stephen Colbert is getting his own show.

"The Daily Show" regular will star each night in "The Colbert Report," likely starting in September. Comedy Central is revamping its schedule, recognizing that late-night programming is essentially prime time for its youthful audience.

"It's as if my character on `The Daily Show' got promoted," Colbert told The Associated Press.

While I'll miss Colbert's contributions to The Daily Show, he certainly has what it takes to carry a show of his own. It was interesting that he described his contribution to The Daily Show as working in character, rather than using the usual polite fiction that his on-screen persona represented the real Stephen Colbert.

Continued after the break. Read More

Bias alert: PollingPoint Post-Election Survey - with dKos poll!

AlphaGeek

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday January 19, 2005 · 3:44 PM PST

2005/01/19 · 15:44

While browsing a technical website, I came across something unusual in that context: a banner ad asking me to participate in a Post-Election Survey with Dubya's picture emblazoned on it. Of course, it had an American flag as the background. Like a well-trained crackmonkey, I clicked on the flashy banner.

The further I got into the survey, the more obvious it was that this was a "push poll" biased towards the conservative viewpoint. Examples below the fold. Read More

Back From The Brink: a lesson from... Newt Gingrich?!?

AlphaGeek

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 15, 2004 · 11:58 PM PST

2004/12/15 · 23:58

Marshall Wittmann, a self-described "former Republican conservative activist", has posted an excellent study of the 1994 Gingrich-led resurgence of the Republican party. More on that in a moment.

In politics, as in war, the best insights into the enemy's strengths and weaknesses come from the mouths of those who have the strength of conviction to switch sides. I read Mr. Wittmann's Bull Moose Blog daily, and he never fails to inspire me with his commentary.

Read on after the break for a synopsis of the article, and your correspondent's humble attempt at analysis of its important points. Read More

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