Tag: Government

I just couldn’t help but post this. What an embarrassment.

I wish Wired Magazine would publish more articles like Vinod Khosla’s essay about his investments in the biofuel industry. Reading someone’s thoughts firsthand, rather than through a mediator, makes for more compelling reading. Sort of like a blog.

About a month ago, I linked to a story about ISPs’ plans to charge both content providers and end users for improved internet performance. Yesterday, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden unveiled a bill that would prohibit such practices. It doesn’t say so in this story, but I read elsewhere that the bill already has the support of several Republicans.

Eric Raymond’s response to the article in the Nation entitled The End of the Internet? (which I pointed to a couple weeks ago) has generated some good debate by some very smart people about what can be done to bypass the phone and cable companies.

The nation’s largest telephone and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually everything we do online.

Disgusting.

From CNN:

The federal government Wednesday granted the requests of eight Indiana counties to switch from the Eastern to the Central time zone, ending a long battle involving daylight-saving time.

Even though I haven’t lived in Indiana for almost six years, I’m still have a hard time dealing with daylight saving time. At least the part of Indiana I lived in wasn’t as screwed up the southern part of the state, where fast time and slow time are observed.

The importance of the law against revealing the true professional identity of an agent is advertised by the draconian punishment, under the federal code, for violating it. In the swirl of the Libby affair, one loses sight of the real offense, and it becomes almost inapprehensible what it is that Cheney/Libby/Rove got themselves into. But the sacredness of the law against betraying a clandestine soldier of the republic cannot be slighted.

I meant to post about this a few days ago, but got really busy. William F. Buckley has written an excellent article about the CIA leak scandal (via Doc Searls). I don’t always agree with his politics. But I have to respect someone who calls it as he sees it, without regard to his political affiliation.

Right on. (And, yes, I’m Catholic.)

Michael Brown has found a new job. After “doing a heck of a job” as head of FEMA, it was obvious that employers would be scrambling to hire him.

From CNN:

President Bush’s job approval has dipped below 40 percent for the first time in the AP-Ipsos poll, reflecting widespread doubts about his handling of gasoline prices and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

39% of Americans still approve of the President? That blows my mind.