zen.org Communal Weblog

Intuit is forcing people to buy new copies of their software, even though the existing copies work just fine. You won’t be able to download your statements from your bank, and you won’t be able to get the price history of various equities or bonds.

Lame.

Significant changes are being made to your Quicken software. Please read this to find out what to do.

What you can do to maintain Online Services.
To continue using Online Services—and to regain access to live technical support from Intuit representatives—you will need to purchase Quicken 2005. …and here’s how to give us more money… —B

Seen on a wall in Dublin, which really drives home (sic) the high prices for rental or purchase:

Sent to David Farber’s Interesting People mailing list:

“United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of
turnout in South Vietnam’s presidential election despite a Vietcong
terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting. According to reports from
Saigon, 83 percent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their
ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the
Vietcong. A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in
President Johnson’s policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional
processes in South Vietnam.”

– Peter Grose, in a page 2 New York Times article titled, ‘U.S.Encouraged by Vietnam Vote,’ September 4, 1967.

For all you conspiracy theorists out there:
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Black Americans suspect HIV plot

…with an alarming twist towards the end.

FactCheck.org seems to be active again.

The suffering of “filthy, faggot Swedes” in the South East Asia disaster was punishment from God for Sweden’s tolerant attitude toward homosexuality. This is how a website owned by an influential Christian extremist movement in Kansas has reported Swedes’ suffering in the tsunami disaster.

So says Swedish pastor disowns US hate site.

/. reports that Bill Gates thinks that `anyone who doesn’t support ever-increasing intellectual property laws as “communists”.’ United States Republican candidates often accuse Democrats of being liberal. There is an eerie relationship there I have not figured out yet.

Dear Shirley,

There’s a great article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel (in California) about the current attempts in the US government to convince us how privatizing the Social Security system is its only chance for survival. The article offers a great explanation for the claim “Social Security is a pyramid scheme, not a pension program.”

I know the money being consistently deducted from the paychecks in my life isn’t being tucked away for me. Somewhere in East Bumf****, New Jersey there’s a chain smoker who never leaves his home and gets his cases of Old Milwaukee delivered using money from a monthly direct-deposit—one made up in part from my earnings.

Hoping for an actually helpful fix to this growing cancer of a problem has to be high on the current government’s list of priorities—well, right after paying public school teachers a fair salary or helping single parents.

Surely my hopes aren’t too high. Surely.

Sincerely,
Your Conscience

I don’t think we’ll ever see the Oscar Terror Alert Level.

The BBC News doesn’t report on web sites until they have become really popular. So when an Election apology starts net feud, the worst must be over. That said, if you haven’t visited, http://sorryeverybody.com/, love it or hate it it’s worth a visit.

What I apologize for in the two-party systems. The powers that be only allow room for two pigeon holes, but there are five or six pigeons. The third parties get censored out by the two bigot ruling parties. Most registered voters, rather then voting for what they believe in feel they need to vote Democrat or Republican. The United States has a façade Democracy; they say voters have a choice, but voting Democratic or Republican will result it nearly the same policies. The scary part is, I believe most Democrats and Republicans believe there is a large difference!

I think of the current two party systems this way. Vote Republican you are voting for a tractor trailer, Democratic an SUV. The question is: which vehicle would you like to run over you and your children?