Red Dragon Sanctuary

A Guide to Formal Consensus

RedDragon — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:17:29 +0000

This is a great resource to learn about The Consensus Model, and how to apply it.
A Guide to Formal Consensus.

Peace out

Power to the 99%

Dragon

Amanda Palmer & Neil Gaiman Fund Fall Tour With Kickstarter

RedDragon — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:35:36 +0000

Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer Fund Fall Tour With Kickstarter

In just 48 hours, Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman have raised over $65,000 to fund their upcoming West Coast tour using Kickstarter.

The pair far surpassed their $20,000 goal and their campaign still has 24 days to go.

Amanda Palmer & Neil Gaiman Fund Fall Tour With Kickstarter.

102 Things NOT To Do If You Hate Taxes | Addicting Info

RedDragon — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:09:39 +0000

102 Things NOT To Do If You Hate Taxes | Addicting Info.

So, you’re a Republican that hates taxes? Well, since you do not like taxes or government, please kindly do the following.

1. Do not use Medicare.
2. Do not use Social Security
3. Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.
4. Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.
5. Do not call 911 when you get hurt.
6. Do not call the police to stop intruders in your home.
7. Do not summon the fire department to save your burning home.
8. Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.
9. Do not use public restrooms.
10. Do not send your kids to public schools.
11. Do not put your trash out for city garbage collectors.
12. Do not live in areas with clean air.
13. Do not drink clean water.
14. Do not visit National Parks.
15. Do not visit public museums, zoos, and monuments.
16. Do not eat or use FDA inspected food and medicines.
17. Do not bring your kids to public playgrounds.
18. Do not walk or run on sidewalks.
19. Do not use public recreational facilities such as basketball and tennis courts.
20. Do not seek shelter facilities or food in soup kitchens when you are homeless and hungry.
21. Do not apply for educational or job training assistance when you lose your job.
22. Do not apply for food stamps when you can’t feed your children.
23. Do not use the judiciary system for any reason.
24. Do not ask for an attorney when you are arrested and do not ask for one to be assigned to you by the court.
25. Do not apply for any Pell Grants.
26. Do not use cures that were discovered by labs using federal dollars.
27. Do not fly on federally regulated airplanes.
28. Do not use any product that can trace its development back to NASA.
29. Do not watch the weather provided by the National Weather Service.
30. Do not listen to severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service.
31. Do not listen to tsunami, hurricane, or earthquake alert systems.
32. Do not apply for federal housing.
33. Do not use the internet, which was developed by the military.
34. Do not swim in clean rivers.
35. Do not allow your child to eat school lunches or breakfasts.
36. Do not ask for FEMA assistance when everything you own gets wiped out by disaster.
37. Do not ask the military to defend your life and home in the event of a foreign invasion.
38. Do not use your cell phone or home telephone.
39. Do not buy firearms that wouldn’t have been developed without the support of the US Government and military. That includes most of them.
40. Do not eat USDA inspected produce and meat.
41. Do not apply for government grants to start your own business.
42. Do not apply to win a government contract.
43. Do not buy any vehicle that has been inspected by government safety agencies.
44. Do not buy any product that is protected from poisons, toxins, etc…by the Consumer Protection Agency.
45. Do not save your money in a bank that is FDIC insured.
46. Do not use Veterans benefits or military health care.
47. Do not use the G.I. Bill to go to college.
48. Do not apply for unemployment benefits.
49. Do not use any electricity from companies regulated by the Department of Energy.
50. Do not live in homes that are built to code.

51. Do not run for public office. Politicians are paid with taxpayer dollars.
52. Do not ask for help from the FBI, S.W.A.T, the bomb squad, Homeland Security, State troopers, etc…
53. Do not apply for any government job whatsoever as all state and federal employees are paid with tax dollars.
54. Do not use public libraries.
55. Do not use the US Postal Service.
56. Do not visit the National Archives.
57. Do not visit Presidential Libraries.
58. Do not use airports that are secured by the federal government.
59. Do not apply for loans from any bank that is FDIC insured.
60. Do not ask the government to help you clean up after a tornado.
61. Do not ask the Department of Agriculture to provide a subsidy to help you run your farm.
62. Do not take walks in National Forests.
63. Do not ask for taxpayer dollars for your oil company.
64. Do not ask the federal government to bail your company out during recessions.
65. Do not seek medical care from places that use federal dollars.
66. Do not use Medicaid.
67. Do not use WIC.
68. Do not use electricity generated by Hoover Dam.
69. Do not use electricity or any service provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
70. Do not ask the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild levees when they break.
71. Do not let the Coast Guard save you from drowning when your boat capsizes at sea.
72. Do not ask the government to help evacuate you when all hell breaks loose in the country you are in.
73. Do not visit historic landmarks.
74. Do not visit fisheries.
75. Do not expect to see animals that are federally protected because of the Endangered Species List.
76. Do not expect plows to clear roads of snow and ice so your kids can go to school and so you can get to work.
77. Do not hunt or camp on federal land.
78. Do not work anywhere that has a safe workplace because of government regulations.
79. Do not use public transportation.
80. Do not drink water from public water fountains.
81. Do not whine when someone copies your work and sells it as their own. Government enforces copyright laws.
82. Do not expect to own your home, car, or boat. Government organizes and keeps all titles.
83. Do not expect convicted felons to remain off the streets.
84. Do not eat in restaurants that are regulated by food quality and safety standards.
85. Do not seek help from the US Embassy if you need assistance in a foreign nation.
86. Do not apply for a passport to travel outside of the United States.
87. Do not apply for a patent when you invent something.
88. Do not adopt a child through your local, state, or federal governments.
89.Do not use elevators that have been inspected by federal or state safety regulators.
90. Do not use any resource that was discovered by the USGS.
91. Do not ask for energy assistance from the government.
92. Do not move to any other developed nation, because the taxes are much higher.
93. Do not go to a beach that is kept clean by the state.
94. Do not use money printed by the US Treasury.
95. Do not complain when millions more illegal immigrants cross the border because there are no more border patrol agents.
96. Do not attend a state university.
97. Do not see any doctor that is licensed through the state.
98. Do not use any water from municipal water systems.
99. Do not complain when diseases and viruses, that were once fought around the globe by the US government and CDC, reach your house.
100. Do not work for any company that is required to pay its workers a livable wage, provide them sick days, vacation days, and benefits.
101. Do not expect to be able to vote on election days. Government provides voting booths, election day officials, and voting machines which are paid for with taxes.
102. Do not ride trains. The railroad was built with government financial assistance.

The fact is, we pay for the lifestyle we expect. Without taxes, our lifestyles would be totally different and much harder. America would be a third world country. The less we pay, the less we get in return. Americans pay less taxes today since 1958 and is ranked 32nd out of 34 of the top tax paying countries. Chile and Mexico are 33rd and 34th. The Republicans are lying when they say that we pay the highest taxes in the world and are only attacking taxes to reward corporations and the wealthy and to weaken our infrastructure and way of life. So next time you object to paying taxes or fight to abolish taxes for corporations and the wealthy, keep this quote in mind…

“I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Vindictive WalMart erroneously accuses couple of shoplifting, has husband deported, wife fired, costs them house and car – Boing Boing

oldreddragon — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:08:43 +0000

First we get Cops busting little girls and closing their Lemonade stand. Now we have Rent-A-Cops getting people fired from their jobs, deported and costing them their home and car in the processes. What the fuck is wrong with people today???

Posted by Cory Doctorow on Friday, Jul 29th at 7:27am

A newlywed couple in Birmingham, AL had problems with the automatic checkout system at WalMart, which refused to ring up their $2.90 packet of chicken necks. A WalMart employee helped them with the system, and they paid and made to leave. A security guard confronted them and accused them of stealing the chicken necks, despite their receipt, which showed they had paid. The manager was summoned, reviewed the receipt and the security footage, and concluded the couple had done nothing wrong. However, the security guard insisted on calling the police, and then WalMart contacted the INS to alert them to the husband’s legal trouble (he hadn’t yet been naturalized following his wedding to a US citizen), as well as the WalMart where the wife worked in order to get her fired. The husband was deported, the wife lost her car and home in the ensuing legal battle. They’re suing.

Plaintiff told these employees to look again as the item was on the bottom of the receipt and therefore accounted for. The security guard started screaming and asked to see the identifications of the plaintiff and her husband. The security guard screamed at the plaintiff and her husband saying they were going to be deported. The security guard, in overly loud voice, stated plaintiff and her husband were illegal and what were they doing in this country. Plaintiff asked for the assistant manager. The security guard answered by saying plaintiff and her husband were going to jail…

The assistant manager said in presence of plaintiff and her husband: ‘I see where she scanned it, I see where it’s been rung up.’ Plaintiff responded: ‘I did scan it, I told you.’ Ricky, plaintiff’s husband said I’ll pay for it again if you want me to. The assistant manager then said to the security guard: ‘Well what do you want to do?’ The security guard said he wanted to put plaintiff and her husband in jail.

…When the security guard found that Mary Hill Bonin had worked at another Wal-Mart, he called that store and informed it “that she was being charged with a Theft of Property in the Third Degree,” even though the assistant manager already had told him that the chicken bones had been bought and paid for, the Bonins say.

Wal-Mart Goes Nuclear Over Chicken Necks; Newlyweds Lose House; Husband Deported

Vindictive WalMart erroneously accuses couple of shoplifting, has husband deported, wife fired, costs them house and car – Boing Boing.

Happy 90th birthday, John Glenn! From 1964, NASA’s biopic “The John Glenn Story” – Boing Boing

RedDragon — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:16:50 +0000

Happy 90th birthday, John Glenn! From 1964, NASA’s biopic “The John Glenn Story”

Xeni Jardin at 11:14 AM Monday, Jul 18, 2011

Astronaut John Glenn turns 90 today. He was the first American to orbit Earth. When he launched on the space shuttle in 1998, he became the oldest person to fly to space. From NASA:

After a distinguished flying career with the Marines in World War II and Korea, Glenn joined NASA in 1959 as one of the country’s first astronauts in Project Mercury. On Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 “Friendship 7″ spacecraft on the first U.S. manned orbital mission. He launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centerin Florida to successfully complete three orbits of the Earth.

Glenn flew to space again on the the STS-95 mission in 1998 aboard the space shuttle Discovery. As a mission specialist, Glenn supported deployment of a variety of research payloads and participated in investigations about spaceflight and the aging process.

[Video Link: NASA’s “The John Glenn Story,” a film biography of the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. From the National Archives, this 30-minute feature explores Glenn’s youth in New Concord, Ohio, his service as a combat pilot in World War II and the Korean War, and highlights of his momentous adventure as the pilot of Friendship 7.

Peace Out,

Dragon

Kids’ lemonade stand shuttered by police chief – Boing Boing

RedDragon — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:34:13 +0000

It is a sad state of affairs when the local police have nothing better to do that shut down a kid’s lemonade stand. Correct me if I am wrong here but isn’t the “lemonade Stand” part of your and everyone’s childhood?

How far are we going to let the government get involved in our everyday lives? How many freedoms are we going to give up?

What the hell is wrong with all of you bloody sheeple that you actually let this shit happen. It is truly getting to the point where I am ashamed to be an American.

Peace Out

Dragon

Kids’ lemonade stand shuttered by police chief

Cory Doctorow at 5:05 PM Monday, Jul 18, 2011

The police chief of Midway, Georgia, has shut down a kids’ lemonade stand because the girls (10 and 14) who were operating it didn’t have $180 worth of permits. The proprietors were saving up for a visit to a water-park.

By a city ordinance, the girls must have a business license, peddler’s permit, and food permit to set up shop, even on residential property. The permits cost $50 a day and a total of $180 per year. City officials said it’s their job to keep everyone safe and healthy, and there can be no exceptions to the rules.

“We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, of what the lemonade was made with, so we acted accordingly by city ordinance,” Chief Morningstar said.

Midway Police Shut Down Girls’ Lemonade Stand for not having a Business License (via Consumerist)

via Kids’ lemonade stand shuttered by police chief – Boing Boing.

Georgia Police Bust Girls’ Lemonade Stand In Midway (huffingtonpost.com)

Make Quick and Dirty Fire Starters Out of Egg Cartons, Drier Lint, and Candle Stubs

RedDragon — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 03:20:24 +0000

Make Quick and Dirty Fire Starters Out of Egg Cartons, Drier Lint, and Candle Stubs

Need to start a quick fire? If you’ve got an empty egg carton, some drier lint (who doesn’t), and candle stubs you can make a fire starter they’ll burn for a long while. DIY living blog Root Simple outlines the process:

To make a wax and lint fire starter, save up the ends of a few candles and a bunch of lint from the dryer. Take a paper egg carton and put a big wad of dryer lint into each cup of the carton. Melt the candle wax in a double boiler. The easiest way to do this is to put the stubs in a clean tin can, and put that can in a saucepan about halfway full of water. When the wax is melted, fill each cup of the carton up to the top with wax, soaking the lint. When the wax solidifies tear the carton apart, but keep the wax and lint in the individual paper carton sections. Light the torn edges of the cup to start the fire starter burning. The paper of the carton helps to get the wax and dryer lint burning.

Pretty cool, but if you don’t like this method, you can always grab some Vaseline and cotton balls as they’ll also do the trick.

Make Quick and Dirty Fire Starters Out of Egg Cartons, Drier Lint, and Candle Stubs Quick and Easy Fire Starters | Root Simple

via Make Quick and Dirty Fire Starters Out of Egg Cartons, Drier Lint, and Candle Stubs.

By Adam Dachis of Lifehacker.com

Peace Out

Dragon

Ethan Nadelmann responds to DEA claim that marijuana has no accepted medical use – Boing Boing

RedDragon — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 01:57:22 +0000

Ethan Nadelmann responds to DEA claim that marijuana has no accepted medical use – Boing Boing.

Tony Papa of the Drug Policy Alliance says: “Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, responds to the recent decree by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that marijuana has no accepted medical use. The decision by the DEA comes almost nine years after medical marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into account a growing body of research that shows its effectiveness in treating certain diseases. For more on this subject please go the July 14 LA Timespiece titled ‘Medical marijuana: A science-free zone at the White House’ by DPA’s Bill Piper and Stephen Gutwillig.

LA Times: Medical marijuana: A science-free zone at the White House

Peace Out

Dragon

Swamp Ass PSA starring Nathan Fillion

RedDragon — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:46:04 +0000

Swamp Ass PSA starring Nathan Fillion – Watch more free videos

In this new Nerd PSA, actor Nathan Fillion addresses an important issue affecting gamers worldwide: Swamp Ass. Video directed by: Zachary Levi

Kelly Cuoco’s Slave Leia PSA [Video]

RedDragon — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:41:57 +0000

Kelly Cuoco’s Slave Leia PSA – Watch more free videos

From The Nerd Machine @ Comic-Con

In this new Nerd PSA, actress Kaley Cuoco addresses an important issue affecting cosplay girls across the globe: Slave Leia fatigue. Video directed by: Zachary Levi.