Category: politics

Net Neutrality or Forget Reality

Listen to Ted Stevens describe how the Internet works (courtesy of The Daily Show), and decide for yourself if he should have any say in any legislation involving the Internet. I would venture to guess that given a Tivo, Senator Stevens would figure that the technology was reverse engineered from some technology found out in Roswell.

We've had Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley, but I'm not sure which Internet/Tech hotbed exists in Alaska. I would guess it would be the Silicon Pipeline, but unless data's in the form of black gold, it's got to find some other way to travel.

But since Stevens has been all for further oil drilling in Alaska and the rest of the frozen tundra, his use of “tubes” as a metaphor for the Internet should not be a surprise. Tubes and pipes have very similar technology. He knows how pipes work, so those “tubes” must work the same way.

This is the same Senator Ted Stevens vehemently opposed cutting off funding of his “Bridge to Nowhere” in Alaska, when some selfish senators, even fellow Republicans, wanted to divert the money to assist Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. How dare they.

This $223 million bridge would connect the 8,000 people on one side to the 50 on the other. The Gravina Island Bridge (proposed name for the bridge) would apparently be nearly as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and as high as the Brooklyn Bridge. The last time I checked a lot more people use those bridges, perhaps during the New York City Marathon alone.

(Upon further research, it looks like the bridge is no longer earmarked to receive its federal funding, although Alaska would still receive the money to spend on something else.)

This is also the same state that spent $500,000 in tax dollars to paint a giant salmon on an Alaska Airlines plane. This was to help promote the Alaska fishing industry in their battle against salmon farms. $500,000 could have been better spent elsewhere. How many people can even see ? I don't see too many planes pulling along side me on the highway, usually I'm underneath them, and their pretty high up. And even if it looked like a flying fish over my head, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to run out to the fish market shortly thereafter.

Save the Internet, folks. It's still ours. It doesn't belong to Ted Stevens. I'm not sure he even knows how to turn an Internet on. For shits and giggles, let's hand him a solar calculator duct-taped to a toaster oven, and tell him it's the Internet. Although he'd probably be sharp enough to ask where the “tubes” were.

More Fat for the Hogs

Rush Limbaugh has the rocks to charge people $49.95 to donate a 1 year subscription to his web site and newsletter. Considering that he's going to be doing the content anyway for people who subscribe to it, basically he's war profiteering under the guise of charity. Nice job, Fatty.

Ultra-conservative to insane viewpoints are one thing. Doctor shopping for prescription drugs is another. But please, oh please give me one good reason why I shouldn't send troops some non-perishable food that no matter the trans fat content will taste infinitely better than rations, or perhaps the much reuested clean underwear and socks (Mom wasn't kidding when she said to always make sure you have clean underwear. Particularly when you're thousands of miles from home and finding a laundromat not your top priority.), but instead give them access to a web site, since the guys on the front line need to know how you think Clinton is still responsible for today's problems. Because that's exactly what they need when they're picking up pieces of debris off the ground to weld on to their humvees. You know, the one's that use the armor.

I heard about this on Howard Stern this morning, and then read more online. I visited Rush's site hoping that it was already taken down with an apology for letting greed get in the way of charity. Perhaps if Mr. Limbaugh owned an oil company or weapons manufacturer this would not have happened. But since he doesn't he aparently needed some kind of way to cash in.

I noticed he wasn't on the air this afternoon. Hopefully someone was trying to talk some sense into him about this. There's no picture in this post because I don't want to look at him. But here's the obligatory link to his “Adopt a Soldier” program.

And here's a couple e-mail addresses that are attached to the site. In case you want to send “fan mail”:

eibcollection@rushlimbaugh.com

memberservice@rushlimbaugh.com

Matt Lauer Ignores the Teleprompter

There's no way President Bush could have expected anything except Jeff Gannon size softballs to hit out of the park, but my guess is Matt Lauer saw an advance of that new George Clooney movie, Good Night and Good Luck, and fired up by Edward R. Murrow, he came out of it like I did as a kid after watching the Rocky movies. Lauer set his sights on the president, made light of the “photo-op”, and went on to ask questions about Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, and why the government doesn't want to ever forgive the Katrina debt.

Bush handled the interview better than I would have imagined. (Translation: 85% less stuttering and stammering, Andy Dick would be disappointed.) His handlers must have prepared him already for some other audience. But still his sometimes incredulous expression simply said, “WTF?”

Lauer must want Dan Rather's job or something. I always thought Matt Lauer just came across as completely dull and uninteresting, but he had his argument with Tom Cruise a few months back and has now showed the president another vertebrae in the news media backbone.

The president's comment, “Last night, Laura and had dinner with Mayor Nagin and a group of distinguished New Orleans citizens from all walks of life.” intrigued me. Was Robert Davis one of those distinguished citizens?

All in all a fun time was had by all…but President Bush.

I Don't Know Harriet Miers from Jacoby & Myers

The Left Coaster is doing a bang-up job compiling the data. Although even with all this information, I'm still not sure how she'll vote. Although it looks pretty clear that she's quite loyal to the Bush family. And that only means more fun in the Middle East, and less privacy for Americans. Attytood's post on the subject hints at that, as well as use of the military as a police force. I believe the term for that is martial law. It's been done before in places none of us would want to live.

Jon Stewart at the Emmys

Topical and edgy. Comedy Central does better reporting than your local news. You know, that show that they advertise at every sitcom commercial break with those permasmile newsreaders shuffling papers engaged in faux conversation that has much less to do with current events, and more likely regarding moisturizers, since that's what news people do. (By, “that show”, I meant the “local news”, but you knew that, right?.)

Jon Stewart may actually have exceeded Eric Cartman as the biggest celebrity at Comedy Central. Who would have thought The Daily Show would end up doing the most journalism on television.

Blah blah blah. Funny stuff at the Emmys. A Kilborn says what? What's a Kilborn anyway, does that have something to do with post-delivery abortions?

When is a Crook a Crook?

When he's Tom DeLay.

Indicted for criminal conspiracy in campaign financing, he's stepping down from his position as Speaker of the House.

I had to re-read the article before I realized it wasn't about the SEC investigation of Bill Frist. He sold his family's shares of HCA, which his family founded, one month before an announcement of weak earnings. So it very well may be insider trading. I wonder if Dr. Frist would get more assistance from the executive branch, if he fell in line with the party on stem cell research.

Anything on Roberts?