Comment Thanks for posting-- (Score 1) 20
It's always great to see my stuff back on Slashdot! Thanks! (I wrote the NYT article.)
Comment The NYT has a version of the story (Score 1) 496
Court Upholds Prison Ban of Dungeons & Dragons
Prison Bans D&D For Mimicking Gang Structure 496
Trepidity writes "In a case that has been winding its way through the courts for a while now, a Wisconsin prison banned inmates from playing Dungeons & Dragons, using the justification that 'one player is denoted the Dungeon Master... [who] is tasked with giving directions to other players... [which] mimics the organization of a gang.' The prison also cited some sparse evidence that a handful of non-inmate D&D players once committed some crimes that allegedly were related to their D&D playing. On Monday the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the regulation (PDF) against challenges from inmates. The court appeared skeptical of the ban, sarcastically referring to it as the 'war on D&D,' but upheld it nonetheless as having a 'rational basis.' Law professor Ilya Somin suggests that the court may have had no choice, given how deferential rational-basis review usually is."
Comment Re:Are all the news stories sensationalist? (Score 1) 288
absolutely amazing. that's the "failure is not an option" mentality the program lived by in those days... for comparison purposes, read the final report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, published in 2003. It talks of a "broken safety culture" in which managers denied problems existed and suppressed efforts to look at the shuttle Columbia's wing, insisting that foam couldn't cause dangerous damage to the shuttle Things have improved since then -- tragedy has a way of focusing the mind -- but no one should ever forget that going to space is an extraordinarily risky proposition.
Comment Re:Are all the news stories sensationalist? (Score 1) 288
yep. I wrote it. And thanks!
Comment Re:Are all the news stories sensationalist? (Score 2) 288
Well, you know, my journalistic motto has always been "dare to be dull."
Comment Re:Sheesh (Score 5, Informative) 288
Hey there--it's John, the guy who wrote the story. There are other factors at play besides the number of votes that an initiative can generate. For example, the place that the votes are generated is important, and space states like Florida have pretty important votes. The companies that benefit from space spending are also influential. NASA centers and NASA work is spread out all across the country. There are many reasons that Congressional support for NASA remains high and bipartisan -- not just the ones I've named, but the inspiration that NASA can provide to kids who might pursue careers in science and engineering. But the support hasn't been there to give NASA substantially MORE money, and that's why there's going to be a gap in US space flights.
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