reason rally

Metamagician and the Hellfire Club: Reason Rally this coming Saturday

Jambesaid…

Various secularism / skepticism / reason / atheism communities seem, at times, awfully cliquish. I don't like that, but I guess it's just human nature.I would understand debate and complaint about a speaker if they were egregiously out of touch with the principles of the rally or if they were in some way morally questionable, but afaik none of that is really the case here. It's just… infighting and bickering. Eh.

22 March, 2012 12:45Dave Rickssaid…

Anyone feeling left out can watch us get rained on here:radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/northeast_loop.phpThat animated mosaic of local weather radars should load on all computers and mobile devices, but it's about 30 minutes behind real time. Clicking on the Washington DC area will open another page to show the local weather radar displayed just a few minutes behind real time (but that animation won't load on my iPhone).

25 March, 2012 01:16Dave Rickssaid…

First impressions: A wonderful time! Estimates of 10,000-20,000 people. sometimes raining with wind, and temperatures down to 60°F/16°C, but the crowd stayed strong to the end.At the end, I talked with Lauren Becker (CFI VP for Outreach), and she was very happy with the audience, especially to see so many young people. she told me that in her work at CFI, she mainly expects to see people who look like me (e.g., an upper middle class white male, professional with graduate degrees, age 52, etc.). The choice of speakers showed a diverse audience that this movement can look like them, too.The intensity of performances was great, too. I had a front-row seat, so I saw after Jamie Kilstein delivered a hilarious standup rant at fever pitch, he spent what seemed like an endless moment collapsed on Tim Minchin's shoulder offstage to come down from it.I also think it was genius: 1) to somehow get Cristina Rad here from Romania, and 2) to put her on right after Richard Dawkins. that put terrible pressure on her, but it guaranteed her an introduction to a new audience. after she worked through her nerves and got into her talk, then all her great qualities translated straight from YouTube to this other medium. And maybe 20 or 30 minutes after she finished, a woman sitting behind me remarked thoughtfully, "that Romanian woman was good."Damn – I just wasted an hour or two failing to express how great that remark was – I'll just say I'm delighted and speechless. And maybe next weekend I'll be able to write some comments about the rally in a bigger context of society and politics.

26 March, 2012 06:40

Construction workers stage rush hour rally in support of new TZ Bridge

TARRYTOWN – Construction workers held a “rush Hour Rally” along Route 9 in Tarrytown on Friday to send commuters the message that a new Tappan Zee Bridge needs to be built to alleviate congestion.

Ross Pepe, president of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester and the Hudson Valley, which represents heavy/highway contractors, said the workers want to make the point that the bridge construction is vitally needed.

“the industry wants to make sure the public continues to be aware of the need to replace the bridge and the reason for it including its condition, age and deteriorated status as well as the congestion,” Pepe said.

The bridge, estimated to cost at least $5 billion, would put thousands of construction trades people to work and boost the area economy, he said.