8 ms·

the owner of that company, pete ashdown, is an outright great guy. he even tried to run for a senate seat last election[1] -- without PAC $ and a focus on pass

the owner of that company, pete ashdown, is an outright great guy. he even tried to run for a senate seat last election[1] -- without PAC $ and a focus on passing a constitutional amendment to overturn citizen's united. But instead utah got stuck with good ol' Orrin Hatch, which was one of the chief proponents of building the NSA datacenter in bluffdale that is going to store all the stuff collected by PRISIM et. al. [2] the world needs more Pete Ashdowns and more Xmissions. 1. http://peteashdown.org/archive/2012/ http://peteashdown.org/archive/2012/ 2. http://www.nextgov.com/big-data/2013/06/utah-senator-who-pushed-local-12-billion-nsa-data-center-now-silent/65222/ http://www.nextgov.com/big-data/2013/06/utah-senator-who-pus...

hamburglar 13y ago
Does kickstarter allow political campaigns as projects? :)
fixxer 13y ago
> the world needs more Pete Ashdowns and more Xmissions. Yes sir, we do. Also, fun fact for the tin foil hat crowd: Pete is Mormon.* *EDIT: I've heard too much "Mormons run the NSA/CIA" BS lately. I'm not Mormon and I think their faith (like most) is absolutely whacky, but I can't say I've ever met one that I didn't like. I know, I know: crass generalization... but damn if it ain't true.
- yaddayadda 13y ago
  Off-topic "...I can't say I've ever met one that I didn't like." - Unfortunately, I've met a few that really forced their faith on others. However, several of my very best friends and honorary family members are very devout LDS members. While we disagree about religious tenets, we have extreme respect for one another and would defend the other's right to disagree to the death, without hesitation.
  - fixxer 13y ago
    Yeah, I've dealt with those ones too (a good friend came back from his mission very different -- took him a while to chill out about it). Generally, I have found them about as pushy as vegetarians. EDIT: I know some real a$$hole vegetarians.
    - yaddayadda 13y ago
      I'll count myself grateful because the vegetarians I know are so chill :-) And I now have a scary mental image of a rabid rabbit-vegetarian chimera defending a vegi-patch with it's teeth bared. Yep - definitely grateful that I don't know anybody like that :-)
  - yaddayadda 13y ago
    @fixxer - either the pushy LDS members you know are much more chill than the ones I know, or the vegetarians are much more militaristic! :-)
  - stcredzero 13y ago
    At one company I worked for, everyone in the acquired group I worked with was Mormon. They were all chill, awesome people! My thought about it at the time was, "Damn, if Mormons are all like this, it might be awesome to join!" Not that I would, but they were all awesome folks.
    - yaddayadda 13y ago
      A company I worked for recently had a 50/50 split. We also had one team of a dozen that was all LDS. I liked everyone of them, they were all personable and highly proficient. Management had no problems until it slipped that during the process of hiring a new teammember they had discriminated against an applicant who had indicated support for gay rights in her facebook profile. Ironically, while gay marriage was definitely being talked about, the biggest gay rights topic at the time was housing and workplace non-discrimination for the LGBT community.
- some17 13y ago
  Actually he isn't mormon, just raised mormon like so many SLC residents.
  - Osiris 13y ago
    In Utah specifically these are typically referred to as "Jack Mormons", those who are officially members of the Church and raised so, but no longer actively participate.
- Osiris 13y ago
  It is curious that his religion would come up. If an individual is Catholic or Protestant, no one brings it up. If you're Mormon it suddenly becomes a topic of conversation. I take that to mean that most people have heard of us (Mormons) but don't really know much about our belief system, other than we send out young guys in white shirts to knock on your door.
  - fixxer 13y ago
    I get my facts from South Park ;) EDIT: Like I said, all religion is pretty whacky to me. Mormons have the heavy burden of both whacky + young faith. That said, I love and appreciate that Mormons don't murder over cartoons, so way to go! If I had a book, you'd be OK in it! Of course, those FLDS are terrifying... I did read Under the Banner of Heaven a while back, so I'm getting more than just South Park.
  - malandrew 13y ago
    One of my best friends was born and raised Mormon, and if you heard all the stories she has to say about her experience growing up, you'd consider it a topic of conversation if there is the chance that they grew up fundamentalist Mormon in Utah. On the other hand when I lived in North Carolina, I don't recall the few Mormon's I knew there to be any nuttier than Catholics or Protestants. With Mormons (and Baptists too while we're on the topic) at least, it seems that most of the crazy is kept to those who are most fundamentalist (which is generally true of fundamentalism in all its forms). Her stories about growing up Mormon are only second to another friend of mine whose parents are at the very very top of the Church of Scientology, and has lived in the People's Republic of China for years because she can rely on the Chinese government's persecution of certain religions to get people kicked out of the country if they try to go there and do anything to her. IIRC she's already had to do that once. Californians in particular have good reason to consider it a topic of conversation because the Church of Latter Day Saints actively meddles in California politics. Prop 8 spending is the most notorious example.[0] They weren't the only religion opposing it, but they certainly spent a boatload of dollars to defeat it. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8#Religious_organizations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8#Religi...
sounds 13y ago
Don't forget Hatch's "contributions" to the US run back decades. 1. The shuttle solid rocket boosters were built in Utah. Hatch is credited with bringing that pork to Utah. Otherwise, the boosters could have been built somewhere along a waterway and floated down to the vehicle assembly building, but coming from Utah they have to be built in pieces and shipped overland. Thus the need for an O-ring where the pieces fit together. Politics contributed to the Challenger disaster. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disas... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Booster#Construction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Boo... (I admit, all politics are debatable, and there were other contributing factors in the Challenger disaster, but shipping the SRBs from Utah is just stupid, in my opinion.) 2. Pro-bailouts, pro-debt, and extremely pro-copyright: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Hatch#Political_positions_and_votes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Hatch#Political_position...
- rz2k 13y ago
  I think this[1] was one of his most remarkable attempts to contribute to the information age. [1] http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2003/06/59305 http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2003/06/59305
- LoganCale 13y ago
  Orrin Hatch wanted to make it legal for intellectual property holders to remotely destroy the computers of pirates. > Mr Hatch said damaging computers "may be the only way you can teach someone about copyright". > "If we can find some way to do this without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that," Mr Hatch said. "If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines." > He said if a few hundred thousand people suffered damage to their computers, the online community would realise the clampdown was serious. > "There's no excuse for anyone violating copyright laws," Mr Hatch added. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2999780.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2999780.stm
- mistermann 13y ago
  Look at how powerful America is today, and imagine how powerful it would be if it was run pragmatically every step of the way. Long term, the world might be a better place because of people like Orrin Hatch.

hamburglar 13y ago

Does kickstarter allow political campaigns as projects? :)

fixxer 13y ago

> the world needs more Pete Ashdowns and more Xmissions. Yes sir, we do. Also, fun fact for the tin foil hat crowd: Pete is Mormon.* *EDIT: I've heard too much "Mormons run the NSA/CIA" BS lately. I'm not Mormon and I think their faith (like most) is absolutely whacky, but I can't say I've ever met one that I didn't like. I know, I know: crass generalization... but damn if it ain't true.

yaddayadda 13y ago
Off-topic "...I can't say I've ever met one that I didn't like." - Unfortunately, I've met a few that really forced their faith on others. However, several of my very best friends and honorary family members are very devout LDS members. While we disagree about religious tenets, we have extreme respect for one another and would defend the other's right to disagree to the death, without hesitation.
- fixxer 13y ago
  Yeah, I've dealt with those ones too (a good friend came back from his mission very different -- took him a while to chill out about it). Generally, I have found them about as pushy as vegetarians. EDIT: I know some real a$$hole vegetarians.
  - yaddayadda 13y ago
    I'll count myself grateful because the vegetarians I know are so chill :-) And I now have a scary mental image of a rabid rabbit-vegetarian chimera defending a vegi-patch with it's teeth bared. Yep - definitely grateful that I don't know anybody like that :-)
- yaddayadda 13y ago
  @fixxer - either the pushy LDS members you know are much more chill than the ones I know, or the vegetarians are much more militaristic! :-)
- stcredzero 13y ago
  At one company I worked for, everyone in the acquired group I worked with was Mormon. They were all chill, awesome people! My thought about it at the time was, "Damn, if Mormons are all like this, it might be awesome to join!" Not that I would, but they were all awesome folks.
  - yaddayadda 13y ago
    A company I worked for recently had a 50/50 split. We also had one team of a dozen that was all LDS. I liked everyone of them, they were all personable and highly proficient. Management had no problems until it slipped that during the process of hiring a new teammember they had discriminated against an applicant who had indicated support for gay rights in her facebook profile. Ironically, while gay marriage was definitely being talked about, the biggest gay rights topic at the time was housing and workplace non-discrimination for the LGBT community.
some17 13y ago
Actually he isn't mormon, just raised mormon like so many SLC residents.
- Osiris 13y ago
  In Utah specifically these are typically referred to as "Jack Mormons", those who are officially members of the Church and raised so, but no longer actively participate.
Osiris 13y ago
It is curious that his religion would come up. If an individual is Catholic or Protestant, no one brings it up. If you're Mormon it suddenly becomes a topic of conversation. I take that to mean that most people have heard of us (Mormons) but don't really know much about our belief system, other than we send out young guys in white shirts to knock on your door.
- fixxer 13y ago
  I get my facts from South Park ;) EDIT: Like I said, all religion is pretty whacky to me. Mormons have the heavy burden of both whacky + young faith. That said, I love and appreciate that Mormons don't murder over cartoons, so way to go! If I had a book, you'd be OK in it! Of course, those FLDS are terrifying... I did read Under the Banner of Heaven a while back, so I'm getting more than just South Park.
- malandrew 13y ago
  One of my best friends was born and raised Mormon, and if you heard all the stories she has to say about her experience growing up, you'd consider it a topic of conversation if there is the chance that they grew up fundamentalist Mormon in Utah. On the other hand when I lived in North Carolina, I don't recall the few Mormon's I knew there to be any nuttier than Catholics or Protestants. With Mormons (and Baptists too while we're on the topic) at least, it seems that most of the crazy is kept to those who are most fundamentalist (which is generally true of fundamentalism in all its forms). Her stories about growing up Mormon are only second to another friend of mine whose parents are at the very very top of the Church of Scientology, and has lived in the People's Republic of China for years because she can rely on the Chinese government's persecution of certain religions to get people kicked out of the country if they try to go there and do anything to her. IIRC she's already had to do that once. Californians in particular have good reason to consider it a topic of conversation because the Church of Latter Day Saints actively meddles in California politics. Prop 8 spending is the most notorious example.[0] They weren't the only religion opposing it, but they certainly spent a boatload of dollars to defeat it. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8#Religious_organizations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8#Religi...

sounds 13y ago

Don't forget Hatch's "contributions" to the US run back decades. 1. The shuttle solid rocket boosters were built in Utah. Hatch is credited with bringing that pork to Utah. Otherwise, the boosters could have been built somewhere along a waterway and floated down to the vehicle assembly building, but coming from Utah they have to be built in pieces and shipped overland. Thus the need for an O-ring where the pieces fit together. Politics contributed to the Challenger disaster. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disas... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Booster#Construction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Boo... (I admit, all politics are debatable, and there were other contributing factors in the Challenger disaster, but shipping the SRBs from Utah is just stupid, in my opinion.) 2. Pro-bailouts, pro-debt, and extremely pro-copyright: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Hatch#Political_positions_and_votes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Hatch#Political_position...

rz2k 13y ago
I think this[1] was one of his most remarkable attempts to contribute to the information age. [1] http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2003/06/59305 http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2003/06/59305
LoganCale 13y ago
Orrin Hatch wanted to make it legal for intellectual property holders to remotely destroy the computers of pirates. > Mr Hatch said damaging computers "may be the only way you can teach someone about copyright". > "If we can find some way to do this without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that," Mr Hatch said. "If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines." > He said if a few hundred thousand people suffered damage to their computers, the online community would realise the clampdown was serious. > "There's no excuse for anyone violating copyright laws," Mr Hatch added. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2999780.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2999780.stm
mistermann 13y ago
Look at how powerful America is today, and imagine how powerful it would be if it was run pragmatically every step of the way. Long term, the world might be a better place because of people like Orrin Hatch.