Secrets of the City

Noodleman you got something against cutting edge technology development being done in the US or would you rather have it continually happen overseas?

I doubt the miniature robots they are talking about a battle bots or toys.

I love a good knee jerk reaction. Really lets you know something about a person.

Dougie_D: You woke up on the wrong side of bed again today. I threw a dart at my computer screen and it happened to land on Ellison’s request. Quite frankly, I have nothing against *good* pork (vs. Bridge To Nowhere) and was pleased to see some homegrown robotic development being done here in the Twin Cities.

So, shut up and go back to bed.

seriously dougie_d. cheer up. you shouldnt go through life a crab.. thats no fun at all!

Third place gets a fruitcake. I thought third place gets fired …?

Dougie, if you took the time, you would have noticed that noodleman put pork in scare quotes. Pretty clear that he recognizes that at least some of the things on the list are worthwhile projects.

If I tried this I would probably win the Kindle or the iPod when what I would really want is the fruitcake!

@dougie_d

Talk about a knee jerk reaction. Bet you 10 bucks that any miniaturization robotic technology that is developed will find itself into military applications. Btw – we do have an awesome local robotics hobbiest culture here in the cities.

(difficult to figure out what the Minnesota Consortium for Miniature Robotics Development is – although a little goggling suggests its going to the U)

Yeah, Dougie_D…take that!

/am I too late for the outrage outrage bandwagon?

@jane: Hard to fire a volunteer. The Wired articles does make the connection, though.

What the heck is your point with this post?

If the dart you threw at your computer screen hit the $300K of Ellison’s “pork” going to the Family Caregiver The Jewish Family and Children’s Access Network Demonstration Project, you might very well have a reader wake up on “the wrong side of bed again today” and make a wild accusation that you are somehow fomenting anti-Semitism. Same with the Holocaust Education Exhibit. Another reader might then reply to that attack with the claim that you were actually making a really clever point about how Ellison’s use of “pork” amounts to his sealing up his base of support after two campaigns spent defending himself against charges of being an anti-Semite.

Can you hear the music from the Benny Hill show yet?

If you aren’t making a point to advance a political position, if you really are just lobbing darts at your computer screen, then you need to be smart enough to expect that some of your readers will fill in the blanks and interpret the purpose of your post as a political attack. There are common tropes are vectors of attack on fiscal issues and your post is not substancially different from Bobby Jindal mocking volcano monitoring or McCain attacking spending to research bear dna.

The very fact that you are using the word “pork” in relation to the actions of the first and only Muslim member of the U.S. House is in and of itself a loaded political message. And it would be EVEN IF you used it ironically as an Ellison supporter mocking Conservatives and Blue Dogs as tone deaf or worse.

Politics is a bloodsport. Its not about high minded debate or logical, rational argument. Its about advancing an agenda and be it personal or collective, partisan or ideological, it is almost always a zero-sum game.

I have edited your post slightly, SamInMpls. Please don’t start out your comments by hurling abuse at someone else. And Noodleman put quotes around “pork,” so I am not sure he agrees with Wired’s assessment.

@SIM: Until you brought it to my attention, I had not made the connection that you made. Yes, it was a rather unfortunate link I made to a word (and that is all it is … a word). However, unlike Jews, Muslims are allowed to handle pork; it’s not recommended but the only absolute prohibition is the consumption of pork:

Pork is prohibited for consumption. The Qur’an says, [Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine] (Al-Ma’idah 5:3). So, the absolute prohibition is for consumption and not handling the finished products that may have some elements of pork in them, but as a precautionary measure, a Muslim is advised not to handle such products if he or she has got the choice and not much damage is caused because of that, such as loss of a job.

You, too, can now shut up and go back to bed.

I love noodleman.

Politics is a bloodsport. Its not about high minded debate or logical, rational argument. Its about advancing an agenda and be it personal or collective, partisan or ideological, it is almost always a zero-sum game.

Dude, politics is life. Get over it.

I love the music from the Benny Hill show. Always makes me smile.

When the Ellison’s Miniature Robots swarm into the neighborhood, picking up all the cigarette butts and scaring off the feral cats, you’ll know then it was taxpayer money well spent.

Your Congress at work!

Has anyone used this phrase in the since the 50’s in a non-mocking tone?

This was what set me off.  He writes about the “pork” and then says.

Wink Wink the assholes congressmen are spending your hard earned money on toy robots.

Fail at communicating intent.

justpbob…they aready have hired people downtown to do just that. It’s called the DID program. (Downtown Improvement District). People in safety yellow vests make sure the trash cans are emptied and clean. They have a sidewalk vacuum that cleans the gutters.

Has anyone used this phrase in the since the 50’s in a non-mocking tone? This was what set me off. He writes about the “pork” and then says. Wink Wink the assholes congressmen are spending your hard earned money on toy robots.

Yeah, really. Why think small? We should be making monster robots. Made of pork!

There is a thin line between comedy and tragedy; perception and reality; six of one, half-dozen of another. “Your Congress at work” might be ironic or cynical but is it also very, very true.

My intention was to localize a nationally-oriented story about tracking government spending. That I happened to pick a micro-robotic program championed in Congress by Ellison was purely coincidental as was my use, along with it, of the widely-used colloquialism “pork.”

I make no apologies for posting the links or use of “pork.” You can make of it what you want to make of it, good or bad. I did think, when I came across the article, that such an effort — to track government spending on the local level by legions of interested constituents — might also have some other value in the future wrt universal health care. In other threads, we’ve debated the value (or the lack) of government oversight vs. corporate dictate when it comes to the cost of health care. I could certainly see something like this being used in the future as part of the public’s right-to-know in our collective effort to contain rising medical services costs.

“The very fact that you are using the word “pork” in relation to the actions of the first and only Muslim member of the U.S. House is in and of itself a loaded political message.”

Get a grip.

I think the confusion in this thread over whether Noodleman meant Ellison’s project was good pork or bad pork, could easily be remedied by adopting new naming conventions for pork.

I suggest that “pork” is a neutral term indicating earmarks in bills.

“Bacon” refers to good earmarks in bills, like fixing our roads or something.

“Chitterlings” (pronounced chitlins) indicate bad pork, like the Bridge to Nowhere.

“Canadian bacon” (or “back bacon if you’re in Canada) refers to humanitarian spending abroad.

“Pigs feet” refer to pork that no one can figure why anyone at all would want it.

“Pickled pigs feet” is pork that no one can figure out who is responsible for inserting it into the bill nor who would want someone to insert it into a bill.

“Pork rinds” are earmarks that are originally inserted into a bill but later need to be cut for budgetary reasons, as the funds have dried up.

“Ham hocks” are congressfolk who enjoy bragging about the chitterlings they have inserted into a bill OR congressfolk who like to brag they never give their state anything, leading to a. Hypocrisy to be pointed out at a later time or b. People to wonder why their constituents keep re-electing them.

“Trichinellosis” is severally under considered chitterling that end up coming back to bite a ham hock in the ass when the congress realizes how ridiculous it is. Example: Bridge to Nowhere

Finally, “Swine flu” is hysteria over others’ pork by ham hocks that turns out to be not that big a deal (see: John McCain flipping out about Obama getting funding for a planetarium) or is actually very useful (see: Bobby Jindal v Volcano Monitoring or Sarah Palin v Fruit Flies for Autism Research)

Hope this helps!

*severely

(Is that even spelled right?)

@Bixby: LOL. But your definitions would still upset those who are politically-correct. Or vegan. Or both!

Fine, here are the PC terms. Freakin’ special interest lobby groups…it’s unAmurkin!

Groceries: Neutral term for earmarks
Pork: bad ear marks
Leafy greens: good ear marks
Mangos: Good int’l humanitarian aid
Durians: Bad int’l humanitarian aid. It stinks!
Corn: the overuse of earmarks
Turnip: See “ham hock”
Pickled beets: See pigs feet
Pickled eggs: See pickled pigs feat
Ecoli/Salmonella: See trichinellosis
Tofurky: Looks like pork but if you actually did the research you’d see it was actually a leafy green, related: swine flu

As you can see, these kind of suck because vegetarians kind of suck.

/what?

Hmmm…pickled eggs! I love ‘em! Ham hocks, too.

Oh, oh, Bixby. Justpbob is going to be gunnin’ for you now, you corn hater! And while durians stink to high heaven on the outside (you cannot carry them on public transport in most Asian cities), inside they are the Nirvana of sweet, luscious, fruity goodness. I loved durian-flavored cream puffs when I lived in SE Asia.

My bitch about politically-correct speech is that it really does nothing of the sort to correct anything. E.g. “colored people” vs. “people of color.” One might be considered ignorant (but not necessarily racist … unless it’s said with a Southern drawl, boy) while the other sounds horribly condescending when spoken by people who think they’re better than everyone else.

The bix and I are cool. She even forgives me for my clearance fruit lies.

Wait, when did I forgive you for lying about the clearance fruit?

Just now. That’s just like you, you forgive and forget so quickly. That is why everyone likes you, and thinks you are so cool…

Forgets quickly, yes.