Religious Rights?

Let the double edged sword of hypocrisy swing. It was announced today that the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, America's oldest and most famous African American rights association, for those of you outside the US) is having its tax-exempt status reviewed by the IRS for potential political comments made by its recently-resigned president Kweisi Mfune.

American tax law states that tax-exempt organizations must refrain from making partisan comments in an official capacity or risk the tax burden of a standard business. If the NAACP is found in violation of this law, it will slam the already-ailing organization with a huge tax burden, quite possibly forcing it to close its doors for good.

This has shady politics written all over it. First, the investigation could have happened months ago, but conveniently is only happening after the election. President Bush worked hard to curry favor with the African American vote this election, playing particularly hard to the religious conservatives with the issues of gay marriage and abortion. Now the institution that has been fundamental in the construction of black rights in the 20th century is under threat, in an administration deplored for its human rights record. Should this have happened pre-election, Bush's base in the African American community would have been in great peril. Is this coincidence, or spitting in the black voter's eye?

Second, this is the first time I have heard of a review of tax exempt status this hotly-contested election year. Mfune's comments were allegedly anti-Bush, and now NAACP is being investigated. Is the NAACP being investigated because it honestly and willfully broke the law, or because it chose the wrong candidate?

Here's the hypocrisy. Nearly all US churches are tax-exempt organizations, including some 'super-churches' with thousands of members and millions of dollars in their coffers. Many of these churches proved to be vital to Bush's base that guarenteed his re-election, making many statements to their members about the importance of voting one's faith, deciding which candidates are 'chosen,' and so on. When, may I ask, are these churches, who formed political action committees in support of Bush, going to have *their* tax-exempt status reviewed? When are *their* pastors going to resign in disgrace in the face of a political witch-hunt?

The answer is, probably never, and you know what - we'd better get used to it. Bush owes the evangelicals a lot, and I've heard they've been making their own list of demands from him since they delivered the election to him. As I watch Bush build his new cabinet of friends and close allies, pushing out the moderates; as I watch the religious right get a break from legal critique as a thank you for their support; as I watch institutions that have helped make America truly free and equal by never giving up the struggle for rights falter in the face of a callous leader, I can only shudder, and hope to God that America wises up real soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey folks - though most of you are not stateside, I wanted to pass along a wish for a good Thanksgiving, whereever you may be. I also wanted to thank you all for your unerring support and enthusiasm for the work of both myself and my team as we do our best to make Spycraft the best game it can be. I really means a lot to us all.

...And thank goodness for kickass computers
Dude. My computer is so beautiful, it makes my eyes bleed. Almost. I'm currently playing Half-Life 2 the way it was meant to be played - 1600 x 1200 res with full detail and effects - without a hitch. In-freaking-credible.

I had promised some before/after screenshots of the computer, so I cracked open Dawn of War the other day and went to town...

New machine (3.5+ Ghz Athlon 64 + Geforce 6800 GT 256) - Look at that difference! Also worth noting is the fact that the FPS is up about 25%, in 1600 x 1200 res (!!)

Old machine (2.3 Ghz Athlon XP + Geforce 4200 SI)

Well, I Did It

$929 down the drain. My new system consists of:

AMD Athlon 64 3.5+ Ghz CPU
1 GB Kingston Dual Channel 400 Mhz DDR RAM
KT-8 AV8 socket 939 motherboard
EVGA GeForce 6800 GT + 256 MB DDR RAM
200 GB Western Digital UDMA 133 IDE HD
30 GB Maxtor UDMA 133 HD
Soundblaster Live! Value sound card
Unknown brand case with 425W power supply
19" KDS CRT monitor
Microsoft Intellimouse Optical Mouse Pro
Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard

Keep in mind that the nearly $1000 makes up only the first 4 items on the list. If we count my case replacement in August, I've spent exactly a grand on my computer in the last 3 months. And that doesn't count the cost of Half-Life 2, or all the other games I've got on sale lately.

This is by far the best system I've ever had. To show you the difference, I will post screenies of a "before" and "after" comparison. I'm stoked.

It's a damn fine time to be a nerd.

Left my heart in San Francisco
I'm also back from a whirlwind business trip to the City on the Bay. What a great place - too bad I didn't get a chance to enjoy it. I was only in town one night after 8 pm, had dinner, went to bed, had a full-day class, went straight to the airport, and was on my way home less than 24 hours later. I didn't even get a chance to see Scott (Morgenstern) or meet Mike (Mischief) while I was in the region. What a drag. Guess I'll have to go back.

You know what the coolest thing about San Francisco is? I love the diversity of the people, the closeness to the water, but the thing I really think is awesome is the aesthetic coherency of it all. A lot of downtown reflects a 20's - 40's art deco sensibility that meshes so pleasantly with the Spanish-influenced designs along the Embarcadaro, the row houses of Nob Hill, cozy turn of the century storefronts of Northbeach and glittering spires of the Financial District. Like the people of the city, it blends a historical and aesthetic diversity together in a way that is uniquely pleasing and awe-inspiring at times. Cool place - I'll definately be going back, sooner rather than later if I have a say.

Geekend 3: This time, it's not Geekend II
Once again, another installment of the much-beloved Geekend series approacheth...possibly. Still working out the details on that front, but nonetheless, it's exciting. This is rapidly becoming a bi-annual tradition of getting togther for a weekend at my home, playing wargames, video games and RPGs, driking heavily and eating poorly. Always a great time. Now I need to find a corporate sponsor and we'll be set.

Hmm...sounds like a good basis for a con...hmmm, I say.

Dark Inheritance Hits

...and hits well. Psion, RPG reviewer of EnWorld fame, has given Dark Inheritance a 5/5 rating in his most recent review, a feat I am always proud of. Meanwhile, things seem to be livening up in the Spycraft forums, where questions about the book abound. It's great to see such a good initial reaction to a product, particularly one with as much hard work in it as this one. Pop on over and see what all the hubbub's about.

It's coming...
Half-Life 2 is out next week. I'm scared...I'm seriously considering dropping $275 for a processor, $110 for a motherboard, $100 for memory, and $400 for a video card because of this game. I'm due for an upgrade anyway, thanks to the fact I haven't done much to get the machine up to spec in about 3 years, but still.

And if I do get into the game, there's not much guarentee I will ever come back. After all, I'll have to start replayig Call of Duty and Dawn of War because they're going to look so much *cooler*...

Oh, The Humanity

Yes, it almost caused me physical pain, reading this... a review of The Spawn of Fashan, quite possibly the worst RPG ever made. Well worth a read to learn exactly what a game should not be, in quite literally every sense of the word. Look upon it and tremble.

Observation:

The bar:
A concert
Where everyone's performing.

Cheer Up, Folks

Now that the disappointment of the election has washed over many of us, particularly those of us on the Left Coast, things have taken a dour note. It's time to cheer up! Hopefully the liberals out there realize that they need to get their stuff together about winning America back. In the meantime, read Michael Moore's "17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists" to put a little spring back in your step. Failing that, please accept our apologies and condolences, particularly my British, Aussie and Kiwi readers out there.

And if that doesn't get you jazzed, watch the Episode III trailer. Though I hate to admit it, some folks who've seen bits and pieces report this is as good as Empire. Though I can hardly believe it, I have the highest hopes that Lucas will take a little more time in the final stretch to make this one the perfect cap to the Star Wars legacy he has built.

The Value of Knowing Your Audience

One thing we can take away from this election is an appreciation for knowing one's audience. This is a vital skill in game design, public relations (my day job), and any sort of mass communication.

Everything has an audience - games, books, television, campaigns, whatever. To truly succeed at your endeavors, you need to find a way to appeal to that audience in a way that is relevant and creates value. This is called your brand, which can include everything including spoken and written communication, graphic presentation, and eventually, assignment of value and relevance by the audience to that brand.

Let's look at Bush. Over the course of the election, he has constantly referred to his "base," which in this case happens to be evangelical Christians, conservative Republicans, social conservatives, and the wealthy. He has cultivated this audience throughout his term, aggressively moving against taxes, promoting conservative social policies such as gay marriage and stem-cell research bans, stuanchly opposing terrorism at all costs, and further portraying his image as a man of deep faith. This is his brand, and it creates a feeling of deep commitment and emotional value in his audience. When it came time for re-election, he was able to go to that base and convert the value he created within his audience to political currency.

Kerry had an uphill battle ahead of him. Coming into the race, he has no value, but he could have had a brand. We've seen many parts of a brand - Vietnam vet, diplomat, successful sentator, bridge builder - but one never gelled as the definitive John Kerry. He tried to capture disparate audiences by changing his message, which ended up undermining his need to build the Kerry brand. All the while, he was under assault from the Bush campaign, forcing him to react and change his campaign's tone rather than be proactive, thus enforcing accusations of his 'flip flopping' If Kerry had identified the audience he needed to vote for him (admittedly a tough issue with the always fickle swing voter), and then stayed his course, taking the lumps and shrugging them off rather than bobbing and weaving and sticking to his guns, he might have been able to pull it off.

While I remain amazed that intangibles are more important to the American voter than someone's record, Bush knew his audience better, what they wanted, how to speak to their needs and desires, and ultimately how to covert that into the presidency for another 4 years.

Goddamnit.

Fuck.

Once again, the mind of the American voter leaves me totally mystified. And sick to my stomach.

Thank god we're stopping gay marriage. Otherwise they'll multiply and take over the country...oh wait.

Assholes.

This One's Funny

If only that I got a higher threat rating by NOT stating that I thought teen pregnancy could be reduced by increasing sex education in schools...


Threat rating: High. The Bush administration is
concerned that it may not get a second term.
Therefore, we are going to change the rules so
that each Democrat vote only counts as 0.2
votes because Democrat is a shorter word than
Republican


What threat to the Bush administration are you?
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