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Opinion & Editorials
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Opinions and editorials, from a freak perspective. This is one section of our news area where things don’t all have to be “of interest to freaks”; just being written by freaks is enough here. This is where you might expect to see freak perspectives on the “mundane” news, from Iraq to the economy to government corruption to soap-opera scandals. Also, please note that we’re very open to submissions for this page; see our submission guidelines page for details.
Opinion & Editorials
- posted 06/01/2007Atheists “Versus” Believers?
The atheists, the rationalists, and the Brights are pissed off, and they’re fighting back against the forces of “Intelligent Design”, public prayer, and superstition. But they’re in real danger of going too far, and the freak community itself could easily become fragmented over issues of faith and belief. Skeptics and mystics can easily remain allies, if they realize that the important thing isn’t what you believe, but what you think should happen to people who disagree with you. An editorial by FN Webmaster Kai MacTane.
- posted 12/14/2006“FUD” Has Become Meaningless
Once, the term “FUD” actually meant “disinformation used as a competitive weapon.” But legions of open-source partisans and programming-language fanboys have mangled the term out of all recognition, until it’s become a completely meaningless snarl word. It’s time we let this word die a merciful death, and instead use language that actually means something. An editorial by FN Webmaster Kai MacTane.
- posted 09/16/2006What Happened In Montreal
As a gamer, and a goth, Kimveer Gill may have been a freak. But when he walked into Dawson College three days ago and became “Trench, the Angel of Death”, he was not behaving as a freak. Instead, he was sinking to the level of an animal. Freak Nation Webmaster Kai MacTane opines on Gill’s failure in this editorial — the Freak Nation response to the Montreal tragedy.
- posted 04/24/2006Just Let It Die, Already!
Paramount has announced, with great fanfare, that it’s selected Armageddon co-writer and now MI-3 director J.J. Abrams to direct Star Trek XI — and that the movie will star younger versions of Kirk and Spock in their days at Starfleet Academy. Freak Nation webmaster Kai MacTane responds: Why don’t they simply shoot the franchise and put it out of our misery? It’s time to let it die, already, and if Paramount won’t do the job, then it’s up to us.
- posted 03/12/2006Making Numbers Lie for Jesus
Creationists and the Religious Right (and their thinly-disguised allies, the “Intelligent Design supporters”) are trumpeting the results of a recent Zogby poll claiming that Americans “Overwhelmingly Support Teaching Both Sides of Evolution”. But it’s really just sound and fury, covering the emptiness of their position. Kai MacTane points out the bias in the poll questions, and shows why the results really aren’t that horrible.
- posted 02/20/2006The Great Firewall vs. The DMCA
How can the US Congress criticize tech firms for cooperating with the Chinese government, when the US Department of Justice is sending them subpoenas asking for their help in reviving COPA, a censorship bill that’s already been struck down by the Supreme Court?
- posted 02/15/2006Dressing Up For Freedom
Recently a noted political figure was removed from the State of the Union address for wearing a t-shirt in the gallery of Congress. But when the civil rights movement protested in Selma, Alabama, they wore suits and ties — even in the heat of the Deep South. Maybe if we dressed better at our modern political events, our messages might get taken more seriously.
- posted 06/13/2005Browser Wars of the Worst Kind
When Opera Software and the Mozilla Foundation’s Asa Dotzler entered their recent online fracas over who was the actual recipient of a PC World magazine award, the losers weren’t just Opera, Mozilla and Firefox. Web standards and open-source software in general will also take part of the hit.
- posted 02/24/2004How Far Will They Go?
California’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, foresees “riots”, “protests”, and “people clashing” if San Francisco’s same-sex marriages are allowed to continue. Would conservatives really go that far to try to stop marriages?
- posted 02/03/2004No Excuse for Environmental Destruction
In the wake of new UK research showing that the Earth’s environment can recover from episodes of global warming, we’re likely to see Bush Administration pro-industry statements that there’s no need to rein in production of greenhouse gases. But would an environmental correction really solve our problems?
