on PolicyMic
Ed Hancox Yeah, it seems like rather than just hearing something and reacting in the moment by thinking statement X was offensive, many people (and a fair number of PolicyMic writers it seems), go out of their way to find something that goes against their personal viewpoint/morality so that they can say they were offended by it. No disrespect to the President, but aside from the graduates at he ceremony, who really takes time to watch/read a commencement speech?
Ed Hancox Hmm, seems like this could spark a whole other conversation about the editorial quality of PolicyMic :)
Ed Hancox Sorry, but 7 and 8 are really the only ones that rise above the level of what you would hope would be common sense knowledge.
Ed Hancox Well, she apparently thought enough of it to mention it in the quote that you posted, which makes my question a valid one. She also said that we are "violating" the sovereignty of Pakistan and Yemen, which cannot be true if the drone flights are occurring with some level of approval from the governments of these nations. One has to ask then, just what was the point of her little outburst yesterday?
Ed Hancox Ms. Schlafly, given that Pres. Reagan raised taxes, supported a ban on ownership of military-style assault weapons, supported the right for workers to unionize and actively engaged in negotiations with the United States' largest global adversary of the time, the Soviet Union, do you really think he would be welcome in the Republican Party of 2013?
Ed Hancox Releasing prisoners from Gitmo can be problematic. For example, the US cleared the groups of Uighur men detained at Gitmo of any wrongdoing. But sending them back to their native China was problematic since they would likely be arrested on arrival since China is actively oppressing the Uighur minority, so a 3rd party host country had to be found. I guess rather than feeding tubes, Medea would prefer these men be allowed to die? On drones in Yemen and Pakistan: those flights are occurring with at least the tacit (if not public) approval of the governments. If not, each country would be free to try to shoot the drones down, as they would any aircraft that breaches their national airspace.
Ed Hancox Or when guys come up with nicknames for their guy friends. I have had friends call me by a nickname for years; I never felt demeaned by it. I also knew a guy in college for years, I mean YEARS, before I actually knew his real name.
Ed Hancox *sigh* More faux-outrage... This seems to be a reoccurring theme since PolicyMic went on this whole "feminist" kick.
Ed Hancox Fair enough. And I'm not anti-humanities, my point from before was based on the many articles on PM about high millennial unemployment/high tuition/complaining about student loans payments. Just be an informed consumer about the major you choose. I really enjoyed Lewis' book on the housing bubble, "The Big Short".
Ed Hancox So Caleb, you're saying that you have to have a degree in the humanities if you want to be a novelist? I work for a company in the financial industry and I'm writing a novel right now. I think now you're being a little limited in your viewpoints, which would seem to run contrary to the ideal behind the humanities degree that you're espousing.
Ed Hancox Giuliana, judging by the number of articles on PolicyMic recently complaining about the high cost of college and student loans, I would say that money should be a larger focus for college students today than it is. I'm not anti-humanities. But I also think Timothy's point is valid. Caleb, congrats on getting a good job. I have a good number of friends though with degrees in the humanities who didn't. Bottom line is that people should be realistic about what they are spending or borrowing and will eventually have to pay back and what the earning potential for various degrees are, so that they don't face the unpleasant realities that a good number of posters on PM now seem to be facing.
Ed Hancox You can call it bullshit because you disagree with it, but al-Qaeda would consider themselves to be at war with the United States. And the Barbary Wars provide at least some precedent for the idea of a war with a non-state actor (as the Barbary principalities were not fully fledged states). And I'm not sure how you consider a plot to blow up an airplane full of people a "petty crime".
Ed Hancox Can you point to the place in your article where you criticize the rebels for their behavior as well? I think I missed it.
Ed Hancox Sorry. When you take up with an organization like al-Qaeda that has declared war against the US, and play an active operational role within that organization, especially as #1 and #2 have, then expect the rules of war to apply, not the criminal justice system.
Ed Hancox I'm profoundly undisturbed by three of the four.
Ed Hancox I would agree that studying humanities fields like philosophy, sociology, etc., has value. But a student should go into these fields knowing that when they graduate with a degree in philosophy or comparative lit., the world is not going to be beating down their doors with job offers. Quite likely, they will wind up taking a job in a field not related to their degree at less money than they expected when they took on all the debt they did to get the degree. As long as they understand that reality, go for it! Just don't write an article on PM about how unfair it is that you have these huge student loan payments and small (or no) salary to pay them afterwards.
Ed Hancox Personally, looking at the states in the "top 10", I wouldn't want to live in any of them, and I've visited most of them.
Ed Hancox It is possible to write a list-style article that makes some cogent, relevant and interesting points that makes the reader feel like they have learned something in the 30-60 seconds he/she took to read it. It's possible, it's just not done very often.
Ed Hancox Good analysis Malcolm, much better than most of the Syrian pieces I've read on PM. It sounds bad, but I would argue an Assad victory would be the best of a set of bad outcomes at this point. It is the one that gives Syria the smallest chance of falling into fundamentalist hands and would likely be the only outcome that would prevent the genocide/expulsion of the Christian and Alawite populations.
Ed Hancox Thanks for the reply Debra. A few points: On why there's a difference w/Libya: France was the main driver for intervention there; the "good" (non-jihadist) Libyan rebels were centralized around Benghazi, were much better organized and less-inept than the FSA; and the Libyan gov't was not being supplied by Iran as Syria is. On intervention: Well, unless we put in a massive occupation force to keep the peace, ousting Assad is only the prelude to the sectarian fighting that will grip Syria for years to come. Ridding Syria of Assad will in no way end the war, please don't think that it will. On "enough is enough": The US has ignored two decades of fighting in the Congo (DRC) that has killed millions; we left Somalia to war-torn strife from the early 1990s and we never intervened in Sudan. Why then does our international credibility suddenly hinge on "doing something" in Syria?
Ed Hancox Drifted? The attacker found someone with a camera and then said they killed a British soldier because Muslims were being killed every day. What the hell more do you want? Of course it was an act of terrorism.
Ed Hancox Lenny, It's not so much about drawing parallels between generations as it is this sad trend on PolicyMic of authors writing pieces in a snarky tone just because they personally don't happen to know anything about a given topic. Bland sarcasm is sadly replacing thoughtful/interesting commentary on this site.
Ed Hancox Amen Douglas. Sam, if you want to take a break from flaunting your ignorance, go on YouTube and watch a few of Carol Burnett's shows. They're hilarious.
Ed Hancox That's fine, but Laura's comment of "A 22-year-old running the show? Really?" both smacks of ageism and seems to go against what PolicyMic is suppose to be about. But, whatever guys.
Ed Hancox But isn't PolicyMic's whole thing about empowerment of Millennials? And how the Millennial generation is set to take on the world? I would think you guys would be excited about a 22-year old running an established publication like Rolling Stone. Not expecting it to "run into the ground" because such a young person is running it. J/k, what is the average age of the editorial staff at PM? Because I would suspect it to be around 24-25.
on PolicyMic
Ed Hancox Yeah, it seems like rather than just hearing something and reacting in the moment by thinking statement X was offensive, many people (and a fair number of PolicyMic writers it seems), go out of their way to find something that goes against their personal viewpoint/morality so that they can say they were offended by it. No disrespect to the President, but aside from the graduates at he ceremony, who really takes time to watch/read a commencement speech?
Ed Hancox Hmm, seems like this could spark a whole other conversation about the editorial quality of PolicyMic :)
Ed Hancox Sorry, but 7 and 8 are really the only ones that rise above the level of what you would hope would be common sense knowledge.
Ed Hancox Well, she apparently thought enough of it to mention it in the quote that you posted, which makes my question a valid one. She also said that we are "violating" the sovereignty of Pakistan and Yemen, which cannot be true if the drone flights are occurring with some level of approval from the governments of these nations. One has to ask then, just what was the point of her little outburst yesterday?
Ed Hancox Ms. Schlafly, given that Pres. Reagan raised taxes, supported a ban on ownership of military-style assault weapons, supported the right for workers to unionize and actively engaged in negotiations with the United States' largest global adversary of the time, the Soviet Union, do you really think he would be welcome in the Republican Party of 2013?
Ed Hancox Releasing prisoners from Gitmo can be problematic. For example, the US cleared the groups of Uighur men detained at Gitmo of any wrongdoing. But sending them back to their native China was problematic since they would likely be arrested on arrival since China is actively oppressing the Uighur minority, so a 3rd party host country had to be found. I guess rather than feeding tubes, Medea would prefer these men be allowed to die? On drones in Yemen and Pakistan: those flights are occurring with at least the tacit (if not public) approval of the governments. If not, each country would be free to try to shoot the drones down, as they would any aircraft that breaches their national airspace.
Ed Hancox Or when guys come up with nicknames for their guy friends. I have had friends call me by a nickname for years; I never felt demeaned by it. I also knew a guy in college for years, I mean YEARS, before I actually knew his real name.
Ed Hancox *sigh* More faux-outrage... This seems to be a reoccurring theme since PolicyMic went on this whole "feminist" kick.
Ed Hancox Fair enough. And I'm not anti-humanities, my point from before was based on the many articles on PM about high millennial unemployment/high tuition/complaining about student loans payments. Just be an informed consumer about the major you choose. I really enjoyed Lewis' book on the housing bubble, "The Big Short".
Ed Hancox So Caleb, you're saying that you have to have a degree in the humanities if you want to be a novelist? I work for a company in the financial industry and I'm writing a novel right now. I think now you're being a little limited in your viewpoints, which would seem to run contrary to the ideal behind the humanities degree that you're espousing.
Ed Hancox Giuliana, judging by the number of articles on PolicyMic recently complaining about the high cost of college and student loans, I would say that money should be a larger focus for college students today than it is. I'm not anti-humanities. But I also think Timothy's point is valid. Caleb, congrats on getting a good job. I have a good number of friends though with degrees in the humanities who didn't. Bottom line is that people should be realistic about what they are spending or borrowing and will eventually have to pay back and what the earning potential for various degrees are, so that they don't face the unpleasant realities that a good number of posters on PM now seem to be facing.
Ed Hancox You can call it bullshit because you disagree with it, but al-Qaeda would consider themselves to be at war with the United States. And the Barbary Wars provide at least some precedent for the idea of a war with a non-state actor (as the Barbary principalities were not fully fledged states). And I'm not sure how you consider a plot to blow up an airplane full of people a "petty crime".
Ed Hancox Can you point to the place in your article where you criticize the rebels for their behavior as well? I think I missed it.
Ed Hancox Sorry. When you take up with an organization like al-Qaeda that has declared war against the US, and play an active operational role within that organization, especially as #1 and #2 have, then expect the rules of war to apply, not the criminal justice system.
Ed Hancox I'm profoundly undisturbed by three of the four.
Ed Hancox I would agree that studying humanities fields like philosophy, sociology, etc., has value. But a student should go into these fields knowing that when they graduate with a degree in philosophy or comparative lit., the world is not going to be beating down their doors with job offers. Quite likely, they will wind up taking a job in a field not related to their degree at less money than they expected when they took on all the debt they did to get the degree. As long as they understand that reality, go for it! Just don't write an article on PM about how unfair it is that you have these huge student loan payments and small (or no) salary to pay them afterwards.
Ed Hancox Personally, looking at the states in the "top 10", I wouldn't want to live in any of them, and I've visited most of them.
Ed Hancox It is possible to write a list-style article that makes some cogent, relevant and interesting points that makes the reader feel like they have learned something in the 30-60 seconds he/she took to read it. It's possible, it's just not done very often.
Ed Hancox Good analysis Malcolm, much better than most of the Syrian pieces I've read on PM. It sounds bad, but I would argue an Assad victory would be the best of a set of bad outcomes at this point. It is the one that gives Syria the smallest chance of falling into fundamentalist hands and would likely be the only outcome that would prevent the genocide/expulsion of the Christian and Alawite populations.
Ed Hancox Thanks for the reply Debra. A few points: On why there's a difference w/Libya: France was the main driver for intervention there; the "good" (non-jihadist) Libyan rebels were centralized around Benghazi, were much better organized and less-inept than the FSA; and the Libyan gov't was not being supplied by Iran as Syria is. On intervention: Well, unless we put in a massive occupation force to keep the peace, ousting Assad is only the prelude to the sectarian fighting that will grip Syria for years to come. Ridding Syria of Assad will in no way end the war, please don't think that it will. On "enough is enough": The US has ignored two decades of fighting in the Congo (DRC) that has killed millions; we left Somalia to war-torn strife from the early 1990s and we never intervened in Sudan. Why then does our international credibility suddenly hinge on "doing something" in Syria?
Ed Hancox Drifted? The attacker found someone with a camera and then said they killed a British soldier because Muslims were being killed every day. What the hell more do you want? Of course it was an act of terrorism.
Ed Hancox Lenny, It's not so much about drawing parallels between generations as it is this sad trend on PolicyMic of authors writing pieces in a snarky tone just because they personally don't happen to know anything about a given topic. Bland sarcasm is sadly replacing thoughtful/interesting commentary on this site.
Ed Hancox Amen Douglas. Sam, if you want to take a break from flaunting your ignorance, go on YouTube and watch a few of Carol Burnett's shows. They're hilarious.
Ed Hancox That's fine, but Laura's comment of "A 22-year-old running the show? Really?" both smacks of ageism and seems to go against what PolicyMic is suppose to be about. But, whatever guys.
Ed Hancox But isn't PolicyMic's whole thing about empowerment of Millennials? And how the Millennial generation is set to take on the world? I would think you guys would be excited about a 22-year old running an established publication like Rolling Stone. Not expecting it to "run into the ground" because such a young person is running it. J/k, what is the average age of the editorial staff at PM? Because I would suspect it to be around 24-25.