The truth is that programming isn't a passion or a talent, says Edge, it is just a bunch of skills that can be learned.
Lost me here. Programming can definitely be a passion, and it can also be a talent. One might have a natural aptitude at programming. That doesn't mean one cannot learn the skill of programming, or that someone who finds it difficult in the beginning will not become an expert.
In my career I've noticed that there are developers who are brilliant, and developers who struggle. The ones who struggle can succeed through mentoring and training.
There are also developers who are kind and have great social skills, as well as those who do not. This is true of any employee at a company, including managers. Social skills can also be a passion, a talent, and a skill. That is also something that can be improved through mentoring and training.
The primary reasons we don't see this happen for social skills are office politics and the false view that personalities and behaviors are fixed.
If you are reading this and your programming skills or social skills are lacking - invest in yourself and work on them. It will pay off handsomely.
In a March 2011 interview with O'Keefe, NPR journalist Bob Garfield described the ACORN scam: "So let's just recap for a moment the ACORN scenario. You lie to get into – the offices. You lie, subsequently, about the lie you told to get into the offices. You edit the pimp shot into the trailer to create the illusion that you were somehow wearing it during your sting. You go on television wearing the same pimp outfit and let interviewers observe, uncorrected, that that’s what you were wearing when you confronted the ACORN employees. If your journalistic technique is the lie, why should we believe anything you have to say?"
"Yes, it is different in the sense, that there are other ways to commit immigration fraud. But every single person, who sneaks across the border illegally is a fraudster."
You'd be hard pressed to find a lawyer who agrees with that. Now people who break immigration laws to cross the border can utilize fraud once they are here (false documents, stolen identity, etc). But its like saying everyone who breaks into a home steals a TV set. It happens sometimes, it is made easier by breaking in, but they are not the same thing.
More importantly you are side stepping my point and arguing semantics. The article is about fighting people who prey on those so desperate to go to another country they will risk anything. So when you quote someone who (ironically) has committed fraud in several senses of the word and try to change the subject, don't expect much trust for what you're selling.
Thus spake the master programmer: "After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless." -- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"