MetaFilter posts tagged with State

The State of the Turkey Address

grouse — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:53:41 -0800

Happy Thanksgiving, MetaFilter! If you have friends from different parts of the U.S., you might have wondered why they consider certain dishes to be an essential part of a Thanksgiving feast, when you've never even thought of them as remotely Thanksgiving-related. Now you can see what dishes were popular searches on allrecipes.com in various states thanks to a series of infographics in the New York Times.

George Soros on the Way Forward

kliuless — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:42:21 -0800

Soros lectures
You can slog through the video, but I preferred the transcripts 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 + to me, it started off rather abstract* (admittedly on his part) and slow (covered ground; note soros tag) and doesn't really get interesting until 3 -- "The event that forced me to thoroughly reconsider the concept of open society was the re-election of President Bush..." [altho he can get a bit arrogant ("even I, who discovered—or invented—reflexivity, failed to recognize...")] -- and gets better from there... so i'd skip to that if you're so inclined :P kinda previously... and btw, as a bonus, also see... - Why Do We Hate? - What Makes a Nation Rich? - How Much Is Enough? - What the U.S. Long Bond Market Is Telling Us (cf.) - The G20 in 2050 (viz.) - Rare earth: The New Great Game [1,2,3,4,5,6] --- *in fleshing out his concept of reflexivity he goes thru (among other things and in other words) descriptive vs. prescriptive (or normative) theories, instrumental rationality and empiricism, false thinking and truthiness, the law of unintended consequences, &c. so if you're into that sort of stuff... have at it!

WY couldn't get any more square here.

NikitaNikita — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:25:38 -0800

Senators' STATEments: As part of Geography Awareness Week, National Geographic asked United States Senators to draw and label their home states with at least three important places.

50 million and counting..

pwedza — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:50:06 -0800

A concise article in support of a single-payer health care system written by an East Tennessee family medicine physician. And let's not forget that Tennessee is a dyed-in-the-wool Red State : )

In Washington State, echoes of Proposition 8

0xFCAF — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:24:24 -0800

In September of 2004, a Superior Court in Washington state ruled the state's 1998 "Defense of Marriage" act unconstitutional, a ruling which would have allowed the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In 2006, the state Supreme Court issued in an opinion in Andersen v. King County overturning the lower court's ruling, noting "that our decision [pdf] is not based on an independent determination of what we believe the law should be." The legislature, in response, created the state-registered domestic partnership in 2007, expanding many (but not all) marriage-related rights to same-sex couples. Last month, a new law expanded the partnership to cover the remaining rights, creating an "all-but-marriage" partnership.

This year, the Washington Values Alliance has filed Referendum 71, which would put this expansion to a ballot vote. The referendum will need 120,000 signatures to make it to the ballot. WhoSigned.org intends to make these signatures searchable. Predictably, this is creating some controversy. In the meantime, Referendum 71 doesn't seem to be finding much support from likely allies. If it does make it to the ballot, voters hoping to maintain rights for same-sex couples should vote yes to uphold the law as signed. Confused? The Secretary of State's office understands.
Bonus Washington state ballot item: Initiative 957 (which never made it to the ballot) would have required couples to procreate within three years of marriage or face annulment.

Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong

kliuless — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:44:18 -0800

Prelude to Federation - Like a neocolonial SEZ (or TAZ) Paul Romer, not to be confused with David, posits "less developed countries contract with capitalist nations to set up Hong Kong's for them... that we rethink sovereignty (respect borders, but maybe import administrative control); rethink citizenship (support residency, but maybe import voice in political affairs); and rethink scale (instead of focusing on nations, focus on cities—on city states like Hong Kong and Singapore)." cf. neocameralism [1, 2, 3] BONUS - New Urbanism - Taking Up Space

Jesus registered my hotrod

dersins — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:22:17 -0800

"Jesus is to be mass-produced, imprinted on metal, given a reflective coat and sold for money." The Florida Senate is considering a bill to put Jesus Christ on a license plate. Governor Charlie ("No H.") Crist has come out in support of the bill (or at least in support of not vetoing it). [video]

Porcupine Racetrack the way it was intended

Navelgazer — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:02:47 -0800

It's finally happened: After a decade of struggle with MTV over royalty fees and the belief that there would be no market for it, The State is finally being released on DVD on July 19th, 2009. Until then, you can watch streaming video (albeit chopped up in an irritating way) of the episodes from MTV's site, via Hulu, and compare differences such as the soundalike placed in for The Breeders' "Cannonball" in this famous sketch.

It's Commencement Season; Controversy Ensues

etaoin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:55:52 -0800

To Degree or Not to Degree? President Obama will get an honorary degree from Notre Dame but not Arizona State University during commencement ceremonies this year. ASU finds the first black American president's "body of work" insufficient. The East Valley Tribune disagrees. And some enterprising ASU students have found a way to profit from Obama's appearance at their commencement. Of course, lots of celebrities have been given honorary degrees over the years, some more worthy than others.

Jimmy Smith Park

xorry — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:26:05 -0800

Jimmy Smith Park. Breadcrumbs so you can find your way back: Jimmy Smith Park -> About -> Rivers Park -> Dreams about Drunks -> The evolution of previously.

Right to Vote.

lunit — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:46:33 -0800

As we approach Nov. 4, I'm reminded that an estimated 5.3 million Americans are prohibited from voting because of a felony conviction. The ACLU breaks it down by state.

Baltimore Cop V.S. the Skateboarder: Farva Looses his Cool

augustweed — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:46:56 -0800

Baltimore Police Officer V.S. the Skateboarder. (video) Officer, Salvatore "Farva" Rivieri, has been suspended and is the subject of an internal affairs investigation. "Hey, let's pop some Viagras and issue tickets with raging, mega-huge boners." Now gimme a litre o' cola!

Generational politics

orthogonality — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:09:07 -0800

The times, they are a-changing? [pdf]: A Survey of Iowa State University Students' preferences in the presidential primaries. [spoilers inside]

A large-scale survey of Iowa State University students (sample size was 2,185 out of 26,160 enrolled students which represented 8% of all enrolled students) showed an uncharacteristically high level of student interest in the upcoming Iowa presidential caucuses with ... 58% (921) of those registered to vote indict[ing] that they intend to participate in January 3, 2008 caucuses.

Dem., first choice: Barack Obama, 58%; Hillary R Clinton, 14%; John Edwards, 11%; Bill Richardson, 9%; Dennis Kucinich, 4%; Joe Biden, 3%; Christopher Dodd, 1%. Rep.: Ron Paul, 27%; Mitt Romney, 24%; Mike Huckabee, 15%; Rudy Giuliani, 13%; Fred Thompson, 10%; John McCain, 10%; Tom Tancredo, 2%. Of especial interest is the gender breakdown in candidate support (look at Rudy!) and the high percentage of students who found particular candidates, in the students' preferred party, "unacceptable". You'll have to go to the pdf for those numbers.

Christian Embassy at the Pentagon and on the hill. Scary.

specialk420 — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:02:56 -0800

Christian Embassy at the Pentagon and on the hill. Scary.
more here. "We're the aroma of Jesus Christ?"

Speak softly and carry hotdish on a stick

Astro Zombie — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:30:57 -0800

On September 2, 1901, then vice-president Theodore Roosevelt first articulated his theory of diplomacy: "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair. In some sort of hideous misinterpretation of Roosevelt's quote, Minnesotans have ever since provided a dizzying array (YouTube link) of foods on the ends of sticks to be eaten as one strolls the state fair. Hotdish. Teriyaki ostrich. Pork chop. Scotch eggs. Alligator. Drugs. This year's complete and rather breathtaking list.

State Quarters Quiz

Oriole Adams — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:04:01 -0800

How well do you know your dough? A nickel tour of the US via a 25-cent quiz.

blogswarming for freedom

amberglow — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:01:30 -0800

Blog Against Theocracy --a blogswarm dedicated to the separation of church and state, ... Easter Weekend, April 6-8, 2007. Also see the non-profit joint venture between The Interfaith Alliance Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, First Freedom First.

free speech

sadie01221975 — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 10:51:21 -0800

Kent State Professor alleged terrorist? Some say yes, some say no.

State of Denial

stbalbach — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 19:46:16 -0800

The Denial Machine. A 40-min Canadian (CBC) documentary about the "denial industry" - think tanks, scientists, PR firms, focus groups, lawyers, etc.. the issue? ~~Tobacco~~. ~~Global Warming~~. It doesn't matter - different issues but the same people. How to be a professional denier and profit.

Freedom to Fascism

augustweed — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 22:05:03 -0800

Aaron Russo releases America: Freedom to Fascism on the net!

Separation of church and state?

Kickstart70 — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 14:20:17 -0800

White House · International aid · USDA · Department of Commerce · Department of Education · Department of Health and Human Services · Department of Homeland Security · Department of Housing and Urban Development · Department of Justice · Department of Labor · Small Business Administration · Veterans Affairs and even Grant Opportunities for those religious folks who would like to get financially connected to the government.

I Pledge Allegiance to ... A Theocratic Motto?

jonp72 — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 14:18:33 -0800

"we recognize a divine plan that stands above all human plans and continue to seek His will." So says George W. Bush in a proclamation affirming a Senate resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower's decision to establish In God We Trust as the national motto of the United States. Coincidentally, George's brother Jeb has recently approved In God We Trust as Florida's official state motto.

You know, man is the only animal clever enough to build the Empire State Building and stupid enough to jump off it!

Smart Dalek — Mon, 01 May 2006 07:23:57 -0800

She's she's been pawed by apes, strafed by a bomber, and snubbed by the daleks. But today, at 75, the Empire State Building still looks great.

Happy Independence Day

dios — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 11:22:44 -0800

Today is Texas Independence Day On March 2, 1836, the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The document was created by the Convention of 1836 while almost a couple hundred brave Texans at the Alamo held Gen. Santa Anna's army of several thousand at bay for 13 days. On March 6, the Alamo finally fell, slaughtered to the last man. On March 27, 352 Texas soliders were slaughtered at the Goliad Massacre. Finally on April 21, the untrained armies of Texas, outnumbered and under the command of Sam Houston, decisively defeated the much larger and better trained and equipped Army of Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto and captured the Mexican dictator Santa Anna. Happy Texas Independence Day.

Philly is touched by His Noodly Appendage.

killdevil — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 16:07:04 -0800

Live next week in a Harrisburg, PA federal courtroom: the ACLU and a coterie of concerned parents fight the ongoing defenestration of empiricism.