quote:

This user is a Left-Wing Capitalist & doesn't see any contradiction in it.

canuckanese posted:

Obdicut posted:

Are D&D players being savagely beaten by the cops, extorted from, and forced to give gritty, cheetos-roughened blowjobs in the back of squadcars?

Sword of Chomsky posted:

I still think this thread should be pinned as a warning to outsiders like a head on a spike. The thread title should also be changed to "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here"

Also, He's a Wikipedia contributor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Brian_Boyko

Sword of Chomsky posted:

I still think this thread should be pinned as a warning to outsiders like a head on a spike. The thread title should also be changed to "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here"

Also, He's a Wikipedia contributor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Brian_Boyko

quote:

This user is proud to be a nerd, although they prefer not to brag and often goes incognito without a pocket protector.

quote:

The (Former) Candidate
Posted on July 27, 2013 by Brian Boyko — No Comments ↓
Proud to be a Geek

Flag-editI think everyone has a little bit of geek in them. Our quirks and differences define us, and even those of us who have never thought of themselves as geeks might have one or two things about them that set them apart. Things that make them different.

In our youth, some of us hid those differences, out of fear of being outcast. Some of us couldn’t.

It is not until we leave the schoolyard that we start to realize that what makes us different also makes us strong. Our differences allow us to realize greatness. We all have different knowledge, different expertise, different experiences, different preferences, different strengths and weaknesses. And we all have different ideas about how to move Texas forward.

But we share the same values – a belief that Texas can do better for our people. That we can educate our youth better, that we can treat our sick better, that we can manage our budget better, that we can fight so that the struggle to raise a family in this state is just a little bit easier.

And while our commonalities bring us together, it is truly our differences that make Texas spectacular. Texas is ranching, but it’s also rocket science. It’s the home of financiers and filmmakers, miners and musicians, engineers and energy industry workers. The reason that Texas is bigger is because we are the people whose uniqueness make us larger than life.

Now, as you meet with me in person, or talk with me on the phone, you’ll probably realize that you’re talking to someone very unique. And there’s an explanation for that. I’m a geek. It’s a part of who I am. It’s where I came from, and even though I didn’t realize it when I was a child, it’s who I want to be.

My Story:

I can’t say enough how amazing my parents are, and how much work it took to raise a geek, but then again, they’ve always been amazing people.Candidate's-Family

I grew up in northern New Jersey. When I was a kid, Mom was a homemaker while my sister and I were young children, and returned to teach elementary special education when we were old enough. Today, she’s retired but spends her time volunteering at the local Catholic church, helping people in crisis navigate the labyrinth of social services and private and parochial charities in order to get the help they need.

My father is a Vietnam Army veteran who met Mom when going to college on the Vietnam-era GI bill. He also worked in education as an administrator and has two M.A degrees – one in education, and one in education administration. He served in the Army National Guard until the 1990s, where he retired with the rank of 1st Sgt. Today, like Mom, he’s retired but spends his spare time helping Iraq War veterans get the support that they need from the V.A.

They were both educators, and they encouraged me to indulge my love of learning. They also placed a premium on my education, going so far as to move to a better school district for my education – even though that meant leaving a home they put a lot of love and work into for a fixer-upper that they could afford in a higher-income neighborhood that didn’t even have working heaters when we first moved in.

They gave up so much for me and my sister. I’ve tried to pay them back by being the kind of person they would be proud of.

Early 20’s

In 2004, I was under a misapprehension – one borne of youth and inexperience – that voters decided elections the same way that newspapers decided endorsements. You analyze who has the best stance on the issues.

What I’m only starting to realize now is that voters really look for someone who shares their values.

People are busy; they have jobs to work at, families to raise, and the avocations that they care about. Becoming a policy expert on every issue takes up more time than they have. Instead, by voting for a candidate with similar values, you understand that the candidate at least will do what he or she can while in office to support those values, and hopefully come to the right decision that way.

But I didn’t come to understand that until much later in life. So 2004 was a large disappointment for me.

Combined with the defeat I felt after the 2004 election, I also knew that my vote wouldn’t count statistically in other races as well. The year earlier, under the leadership of Tom DeLay, the Texas State Legislature created new district maps that were designed to waste the votes of Democrats. It was a defeat of epic proportions, and I felt that there was literally nothing I could do to change things.

When I graduated from grad school, I couldn’t find a job in my field, journalism. Newspapers were dying out, and even the newspapers who had survived were not hiring. My entire profession had become obsolete.

I was barely scraping by doing freelance work. And I was always worried about how to make next months’ rent payment. I only got through that time due to the support of good friends who helped me through.

I was lucky enough to get a fellowship to U.T., but it didn’t pay for everything. Nor did the money I saved up by working for a year before going to grad school. I still had to take out loans, and when the payments started taking effect, I was forced to do the one thing that every parent fears more than anything else. I moved back in with them.

I love my parents, greatly. But neither they nor I ever want to go through those four months again.

Mid 20’s

Me with co-worker and friend Ben Erwin, creating a video: "The Anatomy of a TCP connection"
Me with co-worker and friend Ben Erwin, creating a video: “The Anatomy of a TCP connection”
I eventually found my way into a career. I was lucky – while newspapers were dying, the new media – blogs and online – were growing. And NetQoS, a tech company in Austin, was looking for someone with solid writing skills who was a fast learner and understood this new technology. And I was successful there. I started as a blog copywriter but expanded my skills into the growing fields of viral video.

While working at NetQoS, I came across a story that I thought might be of interest to network engineers. A substitute schoolteacher named Julie Amero was convicted of child endangerment – she was accused of showing pornographic pictures to schoolchildren in the classroom where she was teaching for the day. She was awaiting sentencing, which could have been up to 40 years in prison.

But nothing about the case made any sense. She certainly didn’t fit the profile of a child predator.

So I used my skills as an investigative journalist to find out exactly what happened. I interviewed the investigating officer and expert witness for the prosecution and the defense witness, a computer forensics expert. The two interviews convinced me that Amero was wrongfully convicted.

The story was picked up by the mainstream media, and the judge in the case ordered a new trial. I felt good about that – and I felt that I could continue to do more good by focusing on what I could change in the tech industry than battering my head against the wall on political issues. So my interest in the tech industry grew as my interest in politics waned.

The Obama Administration

In 2008, we had a new President, Barack Obama. And I had supported him in the 2008 Democratic primary because I felt he would stand up to corporate interests – the then Senator was then campaigning on reforming our campaign finance system.

But when he was elected, President Obama only had a limited amount of political capital. And he decided to spend it on bringing affordable healthcare to every American.

I do not doubt his intentions were noble, and I cannot imagine the immense pressure of that office. But in choosing to fight for healthcare for every citizen, Obama had to concede the fight on campaign finance reform. The result is Obamacare.

Don’t get me wrong. Obamacare allowed me to start my own business without having to worry that I wouldn’t be able to find health coverage. It will save money and lives. But most would agree that it gives far too much away to the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

So while I certainly believe that President Obama has done a good job and was a far better person for the Presidency than Gov. Romney, I also believe that by 2010, he was not living up to some of the hopes I had for his campaign back in 2008.

Once again, I felt powerless to affect change.

New Zealand

It’s because of this powerlessness to affect change at home that I began to get interested in “comparative politics.” And to one country in particular: New Zealand.

Posing for a picture on the summit of Mt. Mauao, overlooking the town of Mt. Maunganui, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Posing for a picture on the summit of Mt. Maunganui (Mauao), overlooking the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, 2010
New Zealand seemed to have all the problems figured out. Reporters without Borders, Transparency International, the Economist Democracy Index all pointed to New Zealand as having one of the world’s best democracies. What was it about this tiny little island nation that made democracy thrive there?

I moved there in 2010 for a period of six months in order to find out. And what I found surprised me. I had thought maybe there was something different about the New Zealand character, compared to Americans. But it turns out, they’re just like us. We both want the same thing for our societies and our families. We both love to spend time with our friends and family, we want good paying jobs and well educated students. Hell, we even watch the same reality TV shows.

The difference between democracy in New Zealand and in the United States wasn’t that our politicians were more corrupt or our voters more apathetic – indeed, people in New Zealand seemed to care less about politics on a day-to-day basis than we do. The difference was systemic. New Zealand put laws and systems into place to make sure that the politicians of New Zealand had to listen to the people. Their systems rewarded politicians when they did, and punished them when they didn’t.

If we can change the system – truly make it so that the incentives of the people and the politicians are one and the same – then we can accomplish great things. But I didn’t know where to start.

I really liked New Zealand, but it wasn’t home. And good friends can help you through bad governments. It doesn’t work the other way around. So I came back to my friends here in Texas.

Despite having a good idea of what needed to be changed, I still felt that I had no power to change things. The money in politics was too powerful, the vote was not powerful enough, and the “powers that be,” it seemed, wanted to keep it that way.

Why get my hopes up? So I kept focusing on the technology industry.

The Filibuster That Changed Texas

It wasn't just about the issue. It was about participating in democracy.
It wasn’t just about the issue. It was about participating in democracy.
But friends of mine from the Austin improv comedy community told me that there was a woman who needed support at the state capitol during the 2013 special session. They convinced me to see the Wendy Davis filibuster. And I realized that there were still good people standing up (no pun intended) for what they believed in.

More than that, there was a gallery of motivated, excited people just itching for a chance to participate in democracy. For once, the doors were wide open and the people embraced it. That’s when I decided to run. I want a Texas where everyone feels empowered to fix the things they see that need fixing. We can do better, here in Texas, and the reason we can do better is because we can give Texans the tools to make sure we do better.

Pan Ache posted:

i like the op and what he stands for and my advice is to open up a hotdog stand somewhere, anywhere, I mean seriously who doesn't love a good dog

Sheng-ji Yang posted:

guys hes found the solution to EVERY POLITICAL PROBLEM IN THE US.

every. one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GoNlrQo2jY

Sword of Chomsky posted:

I didnt see this posted yet

http://www.boykotx.org/the-candidate/

zoux posted:

So he's a carpetbagger too...

Sword of Chomsky posted:

I didnt see this posted yet

http://www.boykotx.org/the-candidate/

Sheng-ji Yang posted:

This user is a Left-Wing Capitalist & doesn't see any contradiction in it.

Sheng-ji Yang posted:

he managed to get 4k in campaign donations including 700 from the texas dems ahaha

A Buttery Pastry posted:

50% right is pretty good for a prospective politician, right?

Ray and Shirley posted:

There is nothing about Bryan Boyko's identity that's not completely formed and shaped by popular culture. There's nothing genuine about him in the least. His gravitation to politics, then, makes sense.

Ray and Shirley posted:

"Geek for State Representative."

quote:

Because American schools are not built to educate or to prepare for education, they're really just crowd control and babysitting.

This is a classic: http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html

Nerds would find their unpopularity more bearable if it merely caused them to be ignored. Unfortunately, to be unpopular in school is to be actively persecuted.
Why? Once again, anyone currently in school might think this a strange question to ask. How could things be any other way? But they could be. Adults don't normally persecute nerds. Why do teenage kids do it?

Partly because teenagers are still half children, and many children are just intrinsically cruel. Some torture nerds for the same reason they pull the legs off spiders. Before you develop a conscience, torture is amusing.

Another reason kids persecute nerds is to make themselves feel better. When you tread water, you lift yourself up by pushing water down. Likewise, in any social hierarchy, people unsure of their own position will try to emphasize it by maltreating those they think rank below. I've read that this is why poor whites in the United States are the group most hostile to blacks.

But I think the main reason other kids persecute nerds is that it's part of the mechanism of popularity. Popularity is only partially about individual attractiveness. It's much more about alliances. To become more popular, you need to be constantly doing things that bring you close to other popular people, and nothing brings people closer than a common enemy.

Like a politician who wants to distract voters from bad times at home, you can create an enemy if there isn't a real one. By singling out and persecuting a nerd, a group of kids from higher in the hierarchy create bonds between themselves. Attacking an outsider makes them all insiders. This is why the worst cases of bullying happen with groups. Ask any nerd: you get much worse treatment from a group of kids than from any individual bully, however sadistic.

If it's any consolation to the nerds, it's nothing personal. The group of kids who band together to pick on you are doing the same thing, and for the same reason, as a bunch of guys who get together to go hunting. They don't actually hate you. They just need something to chase.

Because they're at the bottom of the scale, nerds are a safe target for the entire school. If I remember correctly, the most popular kids don't persecute nerds; they don't need to stoop to such things. Most of the persecution comes from kids lower down, the nervous middle classes.

The trouble is, there are a lot of them. The distribution of popularity is not a pyramid, but tapers at the bottom like a pear. The least popular group is quite small. (I believe we were the only D table in our cafeteria map.) So there are more people who want to pick on nerds than there are nerds.

As well as gaining points by distancing oneself from unpopular kids, one loses points by being close to them. A woman I know says that in high school she liked nerds, but was afraid to be seen talking to them because the other girls would make fun of her. Unpopularity is a communicable disease; kids too nice to pick on nerds will still ostracize them in self-defense.

It's no wonder, then, that smart kids tend to be unhappy in middle school and high school. Their other interests leave them little attention to spare for popularity, and since popularity resembles a zero-sum game, this in turn makes them targets for the whole school. And the strange thing is, this nightmare scenario happens without any conscious malice, merely because of the shape of the situation.

Sheng-ji Yang posted:

imagine him debating in the loving texas house with some bigot rancher from the panhandle

quote:

How far would you go to find the “American Dream?” Would you go to the ends of the earth?

Literally?

In the furthest corner of the globe, there is a little island nation known primarily for exporting lamb, wool, and Hobbit-based movies. It is only as big as Colorado, and has a population about the same size as the L.A. Metro area. It has little to no strategic influence in world affairs.

And perhaps it is because this country is so isolated, obscure, and remote that they were able to perform what would be considered a political miracle. New Zealand is the only country to ever move from a two-party democracy to a multi-party democracy via referendum. It did so via peacetime, without a major national crisis spurring the change.

And as a result, New Zeeland is the least corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International.

Importing Democracy will explain how New Zealand managed to change its electoral system, why they did so, and the effects it has had on the country since the inception of the new, “MMP” system in 1996. In doing so, it will analyze the flaws in the United States electoral system which lead to corruption, political polarization, and increase our risk of political instability. These flaws, contrary to the popular wisdom, are not a consequence of our character, but are the result of cold mathematics.

But Importing Democracy is not a dry academic treatise. It is also a travelogue and personal journey of self-discovery, as the angry young man who starts this exploration eventually becomes the mellow, not-so-young man who learns to accept that democracy is not a zero-sum game where one side must lose for the other side to gain, and that democracy need not be “us vs. them” when it can be just “us.”

Bouncing from kilted comedians and conspiracy theorists to the offices of party leaders, journalists, and Prime Ministers, Boyko explains both the personalities and the mathematics involved in the MMP switch. New Zealand's political structure is examined in both high points and lows. It examines the "Tuhoe Raids" which wrongfully accused Boyko's assistant of terrorism in a country that has no terrorism - and the Rastafarian Parliamentarian who attended a rally to support his release.

An outsider’s perspective on politics which questions very basic assumptions about the way politics is conducted at home, this is a story of finding success in the most unlikely places for the most unlikely reasons.

Sheng-ji Yang posted:

imagine him debating in the loving texas house with some bigot rancher from the panhandle

zoux posted:

Imagine a world in which Mr. Boyko represented a real challenge to the Republican incumbent. Now imagine the look of the face on the incumbent's staff member when he googled the words "Brian Boyko" for the first time.