Incase you haven’t heard, the US government is charging civilians to evacuate the war zone. Read more in Email from Beirut.
Funny how news that is one week old is OLD.
Thanks to Latte Man for the update on the reversed decision.
Category: United States
US politics
For the love of Mr Rogers find your war funds elsewhere!
Apparently congress is once again trying to cut funding to NPR and PBS. Folks, National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service are your voice.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans yesterday revived their efforts to slash funding for public broadcasting, as a key committee approved a $115 million reduction in the budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that could force the elimination of some popular PBS and NPR programs.
…It would reduce the corporation’s budget by 23 percent next year, to $380 million, in a cut that Republicans said was necessary to rein in government spending. [Source]
Can you imagine having your household budget cut by 23 percent?! They tried doing this last year and with MoveOn’s help, it was stopped.
in a defeat for House leaders, 87 Republicans joined unanimous Democrats in bucking an attempt to cut funding from the stations.
…
Markey expressed confidence that supporters of public broadcasting would have more than enough votes to stop a cut again this year.[Source]
There is still time to stop this one!
The reduction, which would come in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, must be approved by the full Appropriations Committee, and then the full House and Senate, before it could take effect. [Source]
Sign the petition at MoveOn and contact your Representative!
Is the real issue here that Republicans see PBS and NPR as having a liberal slant? With this current administration we have seen a great of loss of freedom with people being arrested for wearing "Veterans for Peace" t-shirts while drinking coffee and an introduction of propaganda bias as demonstrated in Kentucky with the blocking of liberal media while allowing conservate media. Here is a picture of the offending t-shirt. I would not have to shield my child’s eyes from that unlike some of the non-protest shirts I see in public and wonder why the wearers are not embarassed for themselves.
A similar move last year by Republican leaders was turned back in a fierce lobbying campaign launched by Public Broadcasting Service stations and Democratic members of Congress, in a debate that was colored by some Republicans’ frustration with what they see as a liberal slant in public programming.
…
Republicans attacked the PBS for programming they said represented out-of-the-mainstream viewpoints, highlighting in particular a "Postcards From Buster" episode that featured lesbian couples and their children in Vermont. [Source]
I don’t want to lose Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me!
Paula Kerger , PBS’s president and chief executive, said in a statement that the cuts would force the network to "drastically reduce the programming and services public television and public radio can provide to local communities." [Source]
I made my quotes from a single source but there is a lot of chatter about this! See also Stupid Evil Bastard for several comments, The 2002 Oversight of PBS, MoveOn’s Petition, and remember contacting your representative is easier than ever! Other references to this issue include Environmentalists Against War, delraysteve (interesting comments), Washington Post (2005), Wikipedia, and Where PBS Gets Funding. Use Blingo to find much more!
Thanks to Brainstream for the alert!
Offsite backups are a good thing
You know… in light of the growing Orwellish government we’ve got going. And when I say offsite, I mean like burying backup copies in the yard at a friend’s house…just in case.
After lecturing at two Chinese universities "[a] retired University of Tennessee professor is under investigation of potentially violating a federal law barring the transfer of sensitive technology to other countries, according to interviews and documents obtained by the News Sentinel." [Souce]
Orwell
…could require Internet providers and social-networking sites to record for a fixed time, perhaps one or two years, which IP address is assigned to which user. The other would be far broader, requiring companies to record data such as the identities of e-mail correspondents, logs of who sent and received instant messages (but not the content of those communications), and the addresses of Web pages visited.
…
Comcast announced that it will begin to retain logs that map IP addresses to user identities for 180 days, up from its current policy of 31 days. (The company stressed that it does not record information such as "Internet use or Web surfing habits.") [Source]
Let me ask you something. This is done under the guise of protecting children from child pornographers.
Barton said, adding that it was time to "protect our children against these despicable child predators that are on the loose right now in our land."
They are now adding that emotional word "terrorism" into play.
it would aid in terrorism investigations as well
Child porn and terrorism are words that get an emotional response from the public while simultaneously causing the public to shield their eyes because they would rather be ignorant than look at the problem. So my question is is there really a problem or are we being played to give up our liberties? There might a problem. I don’t know. But it could also be that we are spending billions and giving up the freedoms that founded our country for something negligible. Yes, even if one child is hurt it is not a negligible problem but if the numbers are small then our government’s response is not just inappropriate but manipulative in that they say they are doing one thing (attacking child porn) and doing another (intentially eroding our freedoms).
Just because someone yells fire in a theatre doesn’t mean we should blindly run from the building. Is there smoke? Are we sheep?
Child pornography existed long before the Internet. Our government is treating a symptom and not the problem which gives credence to a potential hidden agenda. Tracking the viewers of child porn does nothing to stop the photographer and distributor.
The Internet hype has made us afraid to take pictures of our children. I know I have failed to click the shutter because of it. We should be able to record their childhood without fear. Natural is not porn.
If you write your representative, they sometimes write back!
Kudos to efnet‘s #coldfusion‘s MacGeorge for writing his representative regarding net neutrality and bigger kudos to Tammy Baldwin for responding!
I strongly support network neutrality, the guiding principle which
ensures that the Internet remains open to all and guarantees
everyone equal access. …
…I am a cosponsor of the Network
Neutrality Act, H.R. 5273. This bill clearly defines U.S.
telecommunication policy to include the preservation of the
freedom to use broadband telecommunications networks, including
the Internet, without interference from network operators.
Specifically, it outlines responsibilities of network providers to
ensure that the Internet remains open and available to everyone. …
Sincerely,
Tammy Baldwin
Member of Congress
Good stuff! Her letter also mentions that it is better to send email than physical letters.
As a result of the anthrax incidents, all
mail sent to Congress is first irradiated. This process causes
significant delays. To ensure the fastest response, I encourage all
constituents who have access to the internet to contact me through
my website…
Be politically active in your life. There is time for a simple phone call or email. Contact your representative frequently!
See also Markey Amendment to COPE Act, Markey bill, and The Library of Congress.
It’s because our a/c is broken
CNN reports: Study: Earth ‘likely’ hottest in 2,000 years
The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the “recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia.”
A panel of top climate scientists told lawmakers that the Earth is heating up and that “human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming.”
This is Bush’s fault!
Other new research Thursday showed that global warming produced about half of the extra hurricane-fueled warmth in the North Atlantic in 2005, and natural cycles were a minor factor
Or maybe Jesus’…Because, it was cool when he was around.
The Bush administration has maintained that the threat is not severe enough to warrant new pollution controls…
Yes! It’s Bush’s fault!
The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization chartered by Congress to advise the government of scientific matters.
Ok then…it’s Jesus’ fault.
Two party system dying?
Oh yes. We hear it daily. Left! Right! No left! Way right! The words lip off people’s tongues like insults, "Democrat!" and repulsions, "Republican!" Some people do not totally agree with either party but choose one as the lessor evil. Will anything break the two party system? The Pirate Party thinks they will break the two party system! (or maybe it will be Neoroots.)
America’s two political parties may not realise it yet, but in their current form they are nearing obsolescence. As technological advancements continue to bring more and better tools for communication, citizens are increasingly empowered to come together in common purpose and reject the current political system that seems designed by the two parties to keep us apart.
[Source] (see also) (and democracy isn’t dying, democrats are)
Note: To read The Pirate Party, you will have to hold down your mouse and highlight the white box.
Great Hoover’s Ghost!
Appalachia Alumni Association has an interesting post on your Internet activity and the government.
Bush Speaks on Immigration
I assume everyone has seen Bush speaking on immigration and our borders.
Twin Towers used to Build Warship
24 tonnes of steel from the World Trade Centers is being used to make the USS New York, an amphibious assualt ship capable of landing anywhere.
The $1 billion vessel is one of a new generation of amphibious assault ships capable of landing a 700-strong Marines assault force on a coastline almost anywhere without the need for a port.
Do police states like invasions?
Woody Oge, Northrop Grumman’s director of operations in New Orleans, was keen to play down suggestions that the ship might be used to spearhead invasions.
[Source]
Top 10 Signs of the Impending U.S. Police State
Read George Orwell’s 1984 lately? Maybe it is time to re-read it.
- The Internet Clampdown
- "The Long War"
- The USA PATRIOT Act
- Prison Camps
- Touchscreen Voting Machines
- Signing Statements
- Warrantless Wiretapping
- Free Speech Zones
- High-ranking Whistleblowers
- The CIA Shakeup
The descriptions are a great read. [Source]
Shots fired at the capitol
Here’s my totally unconfirmed account. I post this without researching right now simply because it is Friday and on Friday no blogs or reads blogs except my wife and I.
There are reports shots have been fired in Rayburn House Office Building across street from U.S. Capitol. Entire Capitol complex is locked down.
…
they are now putting yellow tape around the entrance
…
swat teams and bomb sniffing dogs going into the building
Tired of Losing Elections?
Become a Republican! Thanks to Serendipitous Reflections for the link!
FBI to get veto power over PC software
Still think this country is as free as it used to be?
unelected bureaucrats at the commission have decreeed that Americans don’t have the right to use software such as Skype or PGPfone if it doesn’t support mandatory backdoors for wiretapping
[Source] Link thanks to Tom Maszerowski
Understand Net Neutrality
Understand that the Internet you know and love is being threaten. Take 6.5 minutes to watch this video to better understand net neutrality and why you should be in touch with your representative in Washington.
UPDATE: Be sure to watch this one also which presents the other side of the debate. Here’s a comment I just made at Say Uncle:
I think that link should be balanced with the other side.
Knowing the Internet on the technical side as intimately as I do, I think both videos leave out critical information. I’m still weighing my thoughts on the issue. Right now I think the 6.5 minute video in favor of regulation presents better arguments. The hands off video is more strongly deceptive in making people think that Google and the giants are getting a free ride which they aren’t. They have to pay for connectivity just like the rest of us and bandwidth at their magnitude can get expensive. Any small time publisher that has found the front page of Instapundit, Digg, Slashdot, BoingBoing or the rest knows the pain.
I still have to think this one over.
