Subscribe to RSS
Archive for the ‘politics’ Category:
Net Neutrality – be careful what you wish for
As retribution for Martin Geddes and in the name of “what goes around comes around” for Google, in the irony of ironies, it is now AT&T claiming Google is violating Net Neutrality laws. Tell me you didn’t see that coming.
We also have Carl Ford asking “can the concept of ‘open’ be governed?” (see http://apps.calliflower.com/conf/show/58623)
Martin Geddes has long argued that Net Neutrality regulation is unenforceable and technologically naive – essentially that it will come back to bite you in the ass – and here it has.
You can’t expect a law to only apply to the bad guys.
This is what I’d call playing to the teleco’s strengths – if it’s one thing they know how to do, it’s lawyering up. They probably love all this “Net Neutrality” talk because they know how to manipulate the game in their favor.
As I’ve said in the past, Net Neutrality needs a dictionary and the root of the problem is lack of competition, lack of consumer choice for broadband provider. If there’s going to be new legislation, it should be focused on that problem, as was done in the UK and France, rather than trying to define and then enforce supposed rules about “Net Neutrality”.
Rejected by Skype
I didn’t make the grade. They’re not going to let me play with “Skype for SIP”.
I guess I’ll find a way to make it through another day, somehow.
Moving Political commentary to separate blog
Administrivia:
Prospectively, I will be posting most of my political commentary on a separate blog: There, I said it
I’ll be shifting the focus of Mr Blog back toward various technology related issues. I’ll limit political posts here to those more related to the tech. sector, and less general politics. I’ll use my There, I said it blog for general poltical commentary from here on out.
McCain: “If you can’t beat ‘em, Join ‘em”
John McCain was driven out of the 2000 Republican primaries by a very ugly, and deeply personal, smear campaign. Voters were asked, “Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain…if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?” (At the time, McCain was campaigning with his dark-skinned daughter, Bridget, adopted from Bangladesh.) It was a despicable and vicious smear. And it worked.
Shortly after losing the 2000 election, McCain told an interviewer that there must be “a special place in hell” reserved for the rumormongers of this so-called “whisper campaign.” When asked about it by a South Carolina voter he responded by saying “I promise you, I have never and will never have anything to do with that.” He denounced such practices as “cowardly” and he called upon all GOP Primary candidates to join him “in pledging not to engage in such despicable tactics throughout the balance of this campaign.”
But, just as he has set aside so many other moral standards under the pressure of a campaign in freefall, Sen. McCain has chosen the low road once again. With polls in swing states moving in Obama’s direction and with the electoral map steadily turning against McCain, he has become what he decried in 2000. Rather than show how he would lead us through the greatest economic crisis in seventy years, he is content to use the same tactics he despised eight yeas ago, orchestrated by some of the same people that he once said were reserved “a special place in hell.”
From “push polls” to “racially tinged” attacks, to inspiring Open Racism and Death Threats McCain is stooping increasingly lower and lower. The results are disturbing – We’ve seen what amounts to angry mobs at McCain/Palin rallies shouting “treason” and even “terrorist” and “Kill him!” all without the slightest protest or denunciation of such behavior from the McCain camp.
Where is the outrage that we saw in 2000 now, Sen. McCain?
Obviously the senator has learned his lesson. The smear campaign of lies against McCain in 2000 was very effective. Bush made up a double-digit poll deficit in the primaries to beat McCain in racially charged South Carolina. So with his hopes of winning on the issues or his plans for the future dwindling, McCain is turning to the only thing left – the old GOP standby: appealing to fear and hate. But this time it’s different. This time we have a black candidate. This is beyond reckless – and McCain knows it.
UPDATE: More results of thinly veiled racism, from Andrew Sullivan:
McCain-Palin supporters at a Palin rally tell us what they think of the “terrorist” running for president. More accusations from McCain supporters in Pennsylvania that Obama is a “commie faggot” and a Muslim terrorist here.
Comments include: “He’s Got The Bloodlines” “Look at his name” “The name says it all”
Or these accusations from McCain supporters in Pennsylvania that Obama is a “commie faggot” and a Muslim terrorist:
Congress told Martial Law would be declared in USA if Bailout fails
To ensure the false sense of urgency, congress was threatened warned that Martial Law would be declared if this bailout bill doesn’t pass. WTF?
To back this up, the Army announced that, beginning October 1, and for the next 12 months:
the 3rd Infantry Division of the 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) has a new mission. For the first time on our soil, an active-duty unit will be assigned to NorthCom (here in the USA), to “coordinate defense support of civil authorities.”
“They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.”
As the Keep It Trill blog described it:
[The YES vote on the Bailout Bill] left me feeling that something terrible had just happened. It was the utter lack of joy in the politicians interviewed afterwards. Their mouths moved that this was a great thing and it will avoid an economic catastrophe, but none of them looked happy about it. They looked guilty as shit.
Terrific. “Shock and Awe” against American citizens.
UPDATE: More on the illegal deployment of US troops against US citizens here: U.S. Troops In Homeland “Crowd Control” Patrols From October 1st
[Section 1385 of the Posse Comitatus Act states, “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
Under the John Warner Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Bush on October 17, 2006, the law was changed to state, “The President may employ the armed forces to restore public order in any State of the United States the President determines hinders the execution of laws or deprives people of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law or opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.”
However, these changes were repealed in their entirety by HR 4986: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, reverting back to the original state of the Insurrection Act of 1807.]
This is why we have the Second Amendment. It’s all fine and dandy to hate guns or even to hate the NRA (which has been taken over by right wing nut jobs), but the reality is the Second Amendment is the last stop. It’s the only thing that sopped Nixon, when he realized there were 50 million armed regular everyday citizens (not just extremist nut jobs). It’s a weird deal: if you have the Second Amendment, you don’t need it, so it doesn’t seem that important. But if you don’t have it, you need it, but then it’s too late.
All you need to know about John McCain
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Haven’t we already had this kind of representaton for long enough?
Senate puts Lipstick on the Bailout pig and rams it down our throats
The pundits were right in saying the scandalous Bailout Bill, aka “Leave No Banker Behind”, would probably pass in the Senate, despite overwhelming opposition of average Americans, on the left and right. After all, only about 1/3 of the Senators are up for reelection, so most of them can assume voters will forget by the time their re-election comes up. For example, here’s what my California Senator Dianne Feinstein said (via CBS News):
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says she’s voting yea despite receiving 85,000 calls against it — out of 91,000 total calls.
How’s that for contempt?
According to a half-dozen offices, the phones and fax machines and e-mail folders were piling up with constituent reactions. The phone lines and email servers became jammed. The Wall Street Journal has called it “Voter Fury”, “an intense outpouring of voter anger”, and a “Populist Revolt”. The New York Times went so far as to call it “Class Warfare”. And note that these are from the traditional press (you can imagine what the alter-media has been saying). And yet, it passes the Senate by a huge margin anyway. So much for democracy and representation of the people.
Some experts think the bill will still have trouble in the House because more Representatives will soon face the wrath of the voting public if they pass something the people clearly don’t want. We’ll see.
There is one other person who cast a YES vote tonight who is hoping for votes in just a few weeks: Sen. Obama – and he is losing my support because of it – I think I can remember that long. His vote tonight shows that he does not represent “Change We Can Believe In” – he represents no change at all. As a result of Sen. Obama’s vote tonight in favor of this shameful 451 page Wall Street bailout bill, I regret that I must withdraw my support for his candidacy. Not that he cares, for sure, but I wanted to get that on the record. And, no, I won’t be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket instead (McCain also voted for the bailout, for whatever that is worth).
Are we not beyond being just annoyed yet? Are you not outraged that not only are the people responsible for this mess not going to jail, they are not even losing their jobs!
Odd Bedfellows – Ralph Nader and Ron Paul
When was the last time Ralph Nader and Ron Paul agreed about anything? Well, they both oppose the bailout. Ron Paul says it will lead to a rough economic ride and will only make the down-turn last longer. Ralph Nader agrees and tells about the story his father told him: “Capitalism will always survive in the United States as long as the government is willing to use socialism to bail it out.”
Another indicator that the world has tipped on it’s side is that today the Democrats voted FOR a Bush plan and were working to urge Republicans to vote WITH their president – they failed and Republicans “burned” the Dems by voting AGAINST Bush – Huh? The vote roll calls are here. We should let every single representative that voted for this bill know just how disgusted we are with them – if they are in your district, let them know you are mad as hell, and you’re not going to take it anymore.
Let’s Play “WALLSTREET BAILOUT” – Marcy Kaptur
I’m sick and tired of being told we have to pass a bill or else. More debt is not the way to get out of debt. Many experts disagree with Paulson and friends and claim that we are going to have a downturn either way, and a $700B (turning into multi-trillion dollar) “bailout”, while it may prop things up in the near term, is only going to make things worse in the longer term – in the same way that such attempts caused the Great Depression. The only “experts” we’re hearing from are the insiders from Wall Street, the same ones that got us into this mess; they say we need the bailout “or else” but nobody is letting anybody argue any other position – its just assumed a bailout is the only answer. It doesn’t pass the sniff test.
House Rejects Bill – Wall Street trying to manipulate, induce panic
Don’t let Wall Street create a panic that causes people to push for a Bailout plan. I’ve seen the news pushing that if a plan is not put forward, the sky will fall.
Look, the sky is going to fall anyway. Any bailout is only a bandaid. That $700B has to come from somewhere. It doesn’t come out of thin air. It will have an effect, particularly on the value of the dollar. Trickle down isn’t going to help here (as if it has ever worked). I’d rather see a plan to push UP from the bottom, but what I’d rather see even more is an hoset discussion about what will really happen if there is no bailout, vs. if there is, and not in terms of a day or week, but the longer-term consequences.
All we see is the “something must be done” arguments, the same kind we saw after 911. As if the only option is bill of some sort – if not this bailout, then some bailout is the only option. This is when people make bad decisions, when they assume the choice, when they have pre-selected “solution”. Nobody is talking about “no plan” being a plan. Why is that not on the table? Why is a bailout a fait accompli?
UPDATE: Ralph Nader is one of the few people questioning whether a bailout is actually needed at all:
And also, it’s not clear at all why a bailout is needed. That’s part of the stampede in the pack and the panic that Bush and Paulson and Bernanke are pushing Congress toward. You know, it’s eerily reminiscent, when you listen to Bush yesterday, of how he stampeded the Congress and the country into the criminal war invasion of Iraq in 2003. I mean, look at all his statements: this could do this, this would do that, farms failing, small business, tada, tada. The first question we have to ask as citizens is, why is there a need for a bailout?
…
So, the first question Congress should ask in detailed hearings, which aren’t occurring, is simply, why is there need for a bailout? Second is, if there is a need for a bailout, why $700 billion? And third, if there is a need for a bailout, what kind of bailout? Taxpayer equity? So the taxpayer can recover if these companies make a profit, they can recover surplus, perhaps the way they did on the taxpayer bailout in 1979 with Chrysler, where Jimmy Carter demanded that Chrysler issue stock warrants to the Treasury, and Chrysler turned around, and the Treasury sold the warrants for a $400 million profit.I don’t think the Democrats show any nerve that they are going to do anything but cave here. And the statements by Nancy Pelosi are not reassuring, which is, “Well, it’s the Republicans’ bill, you know. Let them take responsibility for it.” That doesn’t work. She’s the Speaker of the House.
Amen to that.
Republican, Bush Supporter, Rejects Bailout
At least one long-time Bush supporter has finally accepted the reality:
I was prepared to give Bush the benefit of some doubt on Iraq and other issues, but in my mind this latest attempt at attacking the Constitution, moving our country down the road toward socialism, is the last straw. The Bush Presidency is a nearly complete failure. Yes, it took me this long to realize it.
And regarding the bailout:
I’m no financial expert, but it doesn’t really take a financial expert to see that this doesn’t pass the “smell test.” It stinks. It is rotten to the core. It encourages irresponsibility, greed; it is perverse. Anyone in Congress who votes for it ought to pack and go home, because they don’t deserve to be in Congress.
This is one case where we have seen people from all sides coming together to oppose this bailout, even if for different reasons.
