Pants on Fire!
For politicians, is being a “good liar” just a part of the job?
That’s what many are wondering about President Obama these days.
It appears his pants have been on fire and his nose growing when he’s been talking about his vaunted healthcare reform. This is most noticable during his oft-repeated claim that if you like your insurance plan, you’ll be able to keep it. – A great claim if it were true (Which it is not entirely).
This is just the newest verse of the Obama administration’s “second term blues.”
Over the past year, the White House has had to fend off scandal after scandal, some more serious than others, while dealing with a government shutdown and the botched debut of HealthCare.gov.
But, for the most part, the President’s credibility remained intact.
That’s probably going to change now.
To be fair, we should note that almost everybody whose insurance coverage is in-flux will end up with better and perhaps even cheaper coverage. Many insurance policies only last on a yearly basis anyway, so some of this turnover likely has nothing to do with the new healthcare law at all.
So it’s not accurate to claim that the Affordable Care Act will really displace a huge number of Americans in the health insurance market.
Still, the President oversimplified a complex issue to ease the passage of a controversial law, and in the process made a promise that he probably knew he couldn’t keep.
A bad move.
This kind of willful deception from our elected representatives is both infuriating and sadly commonplace. Any politician playing this game deserves a hefty dose of scorn from us citizens regardless of our, or their, ideological persuasion.
Conor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic put it best:
There are important ways in which every lie or misleading statement is not equal. If we compare the consequences of every Bush Administration misdirection prior to the Iraq War—a multi-trillion-dollar conflict that killed 5,000 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis—their deceit was orders of magnitude more damaging than, say, Clinton and his allies subverting a sexual-misconduct lawsuit while under oath.
But there is one way in which all lies government officials tell are alike: To different degrees, they all subvert self-government by depriving Americans of accurate information as we make political judgments. They all diminish an almost depleted store of trust that’s needed for functional governance.
Has President Obama lost your trust? Is it possible for any politician to avoid telling lies? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
]]>
For politicians, is being a “good liar” just a part of the job? That’s what many are wondering about President Obama these days. It appears his pants have been on fire and his nose growing...
http://usdemocrazy.net/pants-on-fire/
https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/37905/guest@my.umbc.edu/bed9e2f9b4661289d79d02f211d7ed48/api/pixel
affordable-care-act
barack-obama
current
democracy
health-insurance
healthcare
lies
news
obamacare
politicians
politics
us
usdemocrazy
USDemocrazy
https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/retired-12
https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/xsmall.png?1279120129
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/original.jpg?1279120129
https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/xxlarge.png?1279120129
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/xlarge.png?1279120129
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/large.png?1279120129
https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/medium.png?1279120129
https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/small.png?1279120129
https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/xsmall.png?1279120129
https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/012/f0935e4cd5920aa6c7c996a5ee53a70f/xxsmall.png?1279120129
USDemocrazy
17
6
true
Sun, 03 Nov 2013 23:47:45 -0500
Sun, 03 Nov 2013 23:57:45 -0500
Freebie: Nice Things Icon Set (128 Icons, PNG + AI Source)
Inspiration strikes at funny times. Chris Behr was just watching TV and playing around with the Shape tools in Illustrator. His mind wasn’t focused on either task. He casually divided a square into a grid, then randomly colored it. Something about the colors inspired him to combine the grid with a couple of icons that he had been doodling the night before. Thus, Nice Things was born, a set of 128 original, beautiful icons that we are honoured to present to you.
A preview of the lovely Nice Things icon set.
Chris wanted to make it as easy as possible for you to hit the ground running. So, you get three PNG sizes: 100×100, 400×400 and 800×800 pixels — all available with and without backgrounds. In addition, the set includes the original source AI file, complete with named layers, to help you find what you need.
Nice Things includes 128 carefully drawn illustrations of all kinds of pretty things around us — a bike, birthday cake, watch, traffic light, game console, doughnut, speaker, rollerskate, starship and much more. You may freely use it for both private and commercial projects, without any restrictions, including for software, online services, templates and themes.
The vector-based files are easy to edit and break out individually. (Sneak peek)
Hit the ground running with three different PNG sizes! (Sneak peek)
A preview of all of the icons in this set (View larger preview)
Download The Icon Set For Free
Insight From The Designer
Here is some insight from Chris Behr himself:
It would be easy to say that I started working on Nice Things in the belief that I’d actually finish it. Like most designers, my computer is littered with the remains of half-finished projects. I decided to make this a project that I actually finished, and I set in place some very simple rules:
- Every week, I had to finish at least one new icon.
- I could draw only what I considered to be a nice thing. No guns, bombs or the like.
- I had to restrict the color palette. In this case, I chose the “Russian Poster Art” swatches in Illustrator.
At first, it was easy to think of what to draw. But as the weeks wore on, it became more and more difficult. Thankfully, my wonderful colleagues at Skyscanner were only too happy to help; and with the creation of a quick Google Doc, I had enough ideas to last me through Christmas.
I don’t have any noble goals with Nice Things beyond it being of help. Since starting college eight years ago, I’ve enjoyed the fruits of the design community without really giving anything back. Fonts, icons, templates — each and every one of them has helped me where I’ve needed it, and I hope that I can offer that same help to a designer or developer in need.
While I don’t have any noble goals, I do have a selfish one. I’d love to see my icons used as widely as possible. And if you happen to see me in a list of conference attendees, well, I can guarantee a “Hoorah!” from the audience if you use one.
Thank you, dear Chris, for the fantastic icon set. We sincerely appreciate your time and effort!
(ea, il, al)
© The Smashing Editorial for Smashing Magazine, 2013.
]]>
Inspiration strikes at funny times. Chris Behr was just watching TV and playing around with the Shape tools in Illustrator. His mind wasn’t focused on either task. He casually divided a...
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/11/03/freebie-nice-things-icon-set-png-ai-source/
https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/37890/guest@my.umbc.edu/22f4a14ccdddaebe704320213df0039b/api/pixel
css
design
development
freebies
goodies
html
icons
javascript
mysql
php
sql
web
Web Developer - Build Group
https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/retired-583
https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/xsmall.png?1363101197
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/original.jpg?1363101197
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/xxlarge.png?1363101197
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/xlarge.png?1363101197
https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/large.png?1363101197
https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/medium.png?1363101197
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/small.png?1363101197
https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/xsmall.png?1363101197
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/583/fc60f5d7abc2e080599bb6dc465db54d/xxsmall.png?1363101197
Web Developer - Build Group
0
0
true
Sun, 03 Nov 2013 15:25:51 -0500
Sun, 03 Nov 2013 15:25:51 -0500
When I Was in College, I Didn't Know ...
by David Hoffman
I was a sensitive young man, sometimes confused or hurt by social situations and people's behavior. In the years after college, I finally started to see patterns in circumstances that had baffled me or caused me pain. I began to write them down, so that I would not forget. After several years, I had compiled the collection set forth below. Even now, a couple of decades later, I still find it useful, because occasionally I still need the reminders.
I first published my list on Co-Create UMBC six years ago, and have re-posted it each year. There is a second list, compiled after I arrived at UMBC in 2003, which I'll post later this week (UPDATE: Posted here).
1.
A very large portion of people’s behavior is driven by insecurity. And a very large portion of the behavior that stems from insecurity can look like confidence.
2.
In many situations, people face a choice between doing something in a way that feels right, resonates, comes from the heart, makes sense, and fits the moment; or doing the thing in the way that they think they are supposed to do it. Examples: Giving a speech; proposing marriage; dealing with somebody’s emotional crisis; disciplining a child; interviewing a job candidate; responding “heroically” to a threat. More often than not, the genuine approach produces more satisfying results. And more often than not, people instead choose to do what they think they are supposed to do. (Part of the problem is that people’s sense of what they are supposed to do comes from many sources, including media, that present the relevant situations in misleading ways. For example, the media may capture the mechanical aspects of an effective speech but not the way the words match the emotions of the moment).
3.
Situations take a while to play out. There’s no need to panic, or to assume that what initially seems to be true will always be true.
4.
People tend to overreact.
5.
A situation that has been imagined, read about, etc. may not be easily recognized when it becomes a real situation. This is because the feel of the imagined situation may have been very distinctive, but the real situation feels much more like every other real situation. Examples: “corruption,” “falling in love,” “heroism.”
6.
In many situations, a variety of motivations drive people’s choice of actions. These motivations can range from deeply spiritual to simply practical. However, over time, the more abstract motivations tend to be forgotten, and the more practical motivations remembered and acted upon. It’s hard to cling to a concept; but practicalities—deadlines, costs, etc.—are hard to forget, and create their own inertia. As a result, people repeatedly find themselves going through the motions: continuing to do things that they once made the choice to do, but without retaining any sense of connection to their deepest needs and motivations. They feel lost, and their activities provide no real sustenance.
7.
People are not their roles.
8.
Many situations apparently resolved through formal processes, such as hiring staff, or creating legislation, are really resolved through a complex combination of formal and informal processes. Very often, the informal processes—which may be unacknowledged and hidden from view—are the more important ones.
9.
The key to effective communication is to understand one’s audience. And a lot of people can’t or don’t bother to understand many audiences for their communications.
10.
People may have to hear the same good idea many times before it enters their consciousness.
11.
Ideas are not appreciated or rewarded in proportion to their truth, beauty, explanatory power, or even social value. Other factors typically matter more. Among them: The credentials of the idea’s originator (however arbitrary their connection to the idea); the prospect that somebody can turn a profit from the idea; and the degree to which the idea departs from, or even improves upon, accepted wisdom (the more it does, the less likely it will be appreciated and rewarded).
12.
Often people want things for reasons they can’t quite put their finger on. It’s just something that they feel—maybe the subtle combination of a number of subjective factors (“I want Chinese food—even though we had Chinese last night;” “I want to go home now;” “I want this job despite the fact that it pays less than the other one”). Because they are personal impulses rather than the products of reasoning, these desires can be difficult to assert or defend. In forums where a collective decision is being made, logical arguments may be favored and impulsive arguments dismissed. But the impulses are real, and their connection to people’s welfare is real as well. It is perfectly legitimate to act on such impulses, and to resist the people who try to defeat them with arguments.
13.
Many actions appear to reflect clear, easily inferred motives but in fact do not. People and institutions do all sorts of things that may seem planned, polished and connected to a strategic agenda, but actually are the products of inertia, laziness, whim, jittery responses to incomplete information, or other motives more complex or confused than they seem.
14.
Social change happens in a gestalt—not as the result of any single well-conceived, well-executed program, policy or intervention. There is no single initiative that will save the world. This is because people, institutions, relationships and cultures are extremely complex. Any single action aimed at social change, however well-conceived and widely supported, is likely to be challenged, diverted, thwarted, misunderstood and/or misapplied in a thousand different ways. But honest, thoughtful efforts can have a cumulative effect. Slowly, person-by-person, relationship-by-relationship, they shift the underlying culture and expectations. So the good that we do is not always the immediate good that we intend.
15.
People express opinions for a lot of different reasons. That they really, deeply believe in what they are saying is only one of them.
16.
Overly zealous advocacy of a certain perspective alienates people who might otherwise have adopted that perspective in due time.
17.
The most insidious way to attack or undermine an idea is to call something else by its name.
18.
There are many situations that feel rotten, even when handled perfectly. (Examples: consoling somebody on the death of a friend; apologizing for a mistake that caused a lot of harm). So it is a mistake to assume from the rotten feeling that you have said or done the wrong thing.
19.
A picture left in the same place on the wall long enough will become invisible.
20.
Some things can be learned only through experience.
21.
When the true relationship between cause and effect is unknown, very simple patterns can appear vastly more complicated than they really are.
22.
Perceptions freeze more easily than situations. Once a person has formed a perception of a situation, he or she is likely to miss the fact that the situation has shifted subtly or gradually over time.
23.
Ambiguities in the early part of an arrangement can be costly to resolve. They may be the only things making the arrangement possible. Business deals, marriages, friendships—all may depend on the parties failing to reveal and resolve conflicts in their perceptions about the facts behind their transactions. If one of the parties, at the commencement of an arrangement, sees that these unresolved conflicts may exist, it can be very tempting to keep quiet about them and hope for the best. But the cost of cleaning up the messes that can arise when these conflicts come to light later, long after all parties have begun to take actions consistent with their own perceptions, can be far, far greater. In general, it is much better to name and attempt to resolve ambiguities on the front end of an arrangement rather than risk the catastrophe of having them derail the arrangement later.
24.
Justice is often associated with equality. “Splitting the difference” has a ring of fairness to it. Exhibiting “balance” in reporting on a situation—for example, devoting the same amount of journalistic space to each side of a controversy—seems evenhanded. But in situations in which there actually is a fundamental underlying inequality, treating people equally is fundamentally unjust. For example, if two people disagree about ten aspects of a transaction, but one of the two people is correct about all ten aspects and the other is simply lying for his or her own gain, it would be unjust to conclude that each person must be right about five of the ten sources of disagreement, or to simply “split the difference.”
25.
The two major sources of happiness are self-expression and love. And in truth, they are the same things.
Which items on my list resonate with you? What patterns have you been able to discern from your own experiences?
]]>
by David Hoffman I was a sensitive young man, sometimes confused or hurt by social situations and people's behavior. In the years after college, I finally started to see patterns in circumstances...
http://cocreateumbc.blogspot.com/2013/11/when-i-was-in-college-i-didnt-know.html
https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/37891/guest@my.umbc.edu/3f89c507aa9ed3008d50e8e55767026c/api/pixel
things-i-didnt-know
Co-Create UMBC
https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/co-create
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/xsmall.png?1499890363
https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/original.jpg?1499890363
https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/xxlarge.png?1499890363
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/xlarge.png?1499890363
https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/large.png?1499890363
https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/medium.png?1499890363
https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/small.png?1499890363
https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/xsmall.png?1499890363
https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/002/5b8f025dafb56cb8d3088b7259aadcfb/xxsmall.png?1499890363
Co-Create UMBC
159
15
true
Sun, 03 Nov 2013 14:48:00 -0500
Sun, 03 Nov 2013 14:48:00 -0500
