In Brief

"There’s nothing, at this time, to do in Ping."

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:22:22 -0700

“There’s nothing, at this time, to do in Ping.”

- Dave Winer, assailing Apple’s new music-oriented social network, which lacks functionality and can only be accessed from within iTunes.

You reap what you sow, Rupert

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:29:13 -0700

You reap what you sow, Rupert:

The New York Times reports on the fallout from the British tabloid phone hacking scandal, in which the private phones of celebrities and royals were illegally hacked by desperate tabloid employees. “Getting a letter from Scotland Yard that your phone has been hacked is rather like getting a Willy Wonka golden ticket,” declared Mark Lewis, a lawyer who won the first settlement. “Time to queue up at Murdoch Towers to get paid.”

Blumenauer: I strongly oppose any effort to privatize or weaken the Social Security

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:23:58 -0700

Blumenauer: I strongly oppose any effort to privatize or weaken the Social Security:

Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer recently issued a statement in a response to a New York Times article written by Matt Bai which misconstrued his views about the future of Social Security.

"[T]here were red flags already by the end of Obama’s first week in office that led me to offer..."

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:39:32 -0700

“[T]here were red flags already by the end of Obama’s first week in office that led me to offer the following advice to the new administration: Tell the story of how we got in this mess or you’ll own it. Tell a coherent story about deficit spending. Re-brand government because there’s only one story out there now (Reagan’s), and it’s not one that supports a progressive agenda. Never let attacks go unanswered, because doing so only emboldens your opposition and leads the public to believe that you have no answers to them. And if you throw a bipartisan party and no one comes, don’t throw another one. All of what followed has been as predictable as it has been unfortunate.”

- Drew Westen, writing for the Huffington Post (What created the populist explosion and how Democrats can avoid the shrapnel in November)

"If I had been Editor John Hillkirk (who is not among those I’ve heard from) I would have led the..."

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:44:39 -0700

“If I had been Editor John Hillkirk (who is not among those I’ve heard from) I would have led the entire news staff walking out in protest. If such a stupid decision is ever made again, I hope that will be the result. That would leave those who apparently don’t understand what a newspaper is to try to put one out without a news staff.”

- USA Today founding executive Allen Neuharth, in a scathing letter to the paper’s current publisher, blasting a decision earlier this summer to make a Jeep ad the entire front page.

"false belief in weapons of mass-destruction led the United States to a trillion-dollar war. And..."

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:28:39 -0700

“false belief in weapons of mass-destruction led the United States to a trillion-dollar war. And trust in rising home value as a truism as reliable as a sunrise was a major contributor to the catastrophic collapse of the economy. At its worst extreme, a culture of misinformation can produce something like Iran, which is run by a Holocaust denier.”

- New York Times columnist Timothy Egan, in a must-read blog post entitled, Building a Nation of Know-Nothings

"The fact that e-books involve no printing, binding, shipping, distributing or taking back and..."

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:00:46 -0700

“The fact that e-books involve no printing, binding, shipping, distributing or taking back and shredding unsold copies ought to save you something. And it’s outrageous that that you can’t sell or even give away an e-book when you’re finished with it. You paid for it; why shouldn’t you be allowed to pass it on?”

- The New York Times’ David Pogue, assailing the high cost and digital restrictions management schemes slapped onto “e-books”

Big Brother is watching you: Did Facebook just move us closer to 1984?

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:00:46 -0700

Big Brother is watching you: Did Facebook just move us closer to 1984?:

Jon Orlin takes a critically refreshing look at the launch of Facebook Places, another opt-out “feature” that disregards user privacy by design.

"[A]long came micro-blogging – and, with a finite amount of time and effort available, the blog..."

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:31:46 -0700

“[A]long came micro-blogging – and, with a finite amount of time and effort available, the blog generation turned into the Twitter (or Facebook) generation. A million blogs withered and died as their authors stopped taking the time to process their thoughts and switched instead to simply copying and pasting them into the world, 140 meaningless characters at a time. The result: a whole lot of sound and mundanity, signifying nothing.”

- An excerpt from Paul Carr’s Thnks Fr Th Mmrs: The Rise Of Microblogging, The Death Of Posterity

2012: A scientific reality check

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:09:08 -0700

2012: A scientific reality check:

NASA debunks the myth that the world is going to end in 2012, patiently deconstucting conspiracy theorists’ wild claims about the supposed forthcoming end times.

How the Museum of Flight plans to display a retired space...

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:01:21 -0700

How the Museum of Flight plans to display a retired space shuttle orbiter if NASA sends one to Seattle (via collectSPACE)

"Bit by bit, Facebook is revealing its sinister and controlling side. Let this be a warning, along..."

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:06:32 -0700

“Bit by bit, Facebook is revealing its sinister and controlling side. Let this be a warning, along with every other one the NY Times and other media outlets continually sound, that facebook and other “social networking” sites are corporations who are only in existence to make money from their users’ data. They are not loving, warm, touchy-feely wirtual coffee houses. They will use you and your personal information to line their own pockets. Buyer beware.”

- New York Times reader John F, commenting on the launch of “Facebook Places”

"I’ll fight with everything I’ve got to stop those who would gamble your Social Security on Wall..."

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:31:18 -0700

“I’ll fight with everything I’ve got to stop those who would gamble your Social Security on Wall Street. Because you shouldn’t be worried that a sudden downturn in the stock market will put all you’ve worked so hard for – all you’ve earned – at risk. You should have the peace of mind of knowing that after meeting your responsibilities and paying into the system all your lives, you’ll get the benefits you deserve.”

- President Barack Obama, vowing to put a stop to any effort to privatize Social Security, in his weekly radio address.

An oldie but a goodie from xkcd: Duty Calls

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:18:06 -0700

An oldie but a goodie from xkcd: Duty Calls

"To close a budget gap — the [Colorado Springs] voters, many of whom favor smaller government, turned..."

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:28:22 -0700

“

To close a budget gap — the [Colorado Springs] voters, many of whom favor smaller government, turned down a property tax increase in November, and a taxpayer’s bill of rights [I-1033] makes it hard for city officials to raise taxes — Colorado Springs has stopped collecting trash in its parks, stopped watering many medians on its roads and reduced its police force.

The sprawling city of roughly 400,000 at the foot of Pike’s Peak — which covers 194 square miles — made national news when it auctioned off its police helicopters. But less-heralded police cuts could have more impact: the force, which had 687 officers two years ago, is down to 643 and dropping. At any given time, the department estimates that there is a 23 percent chance that all units will be busy.

So it has reduced the number of detectives who investigate property crimes, cut the number of officers assigned to the schools and eliminated units that tracked juvenile offenders and caught fugitives. Officers no longer respond to the scene of most burglaries, at least if they are not in progress.

”

- New York Times article about devastating cuts in Hawaii, Georgia, and Colorado Springs. Aren’t you glad we voted no on Tim Eyman’s 1033?

Republicans want to take our country back; we want to take it forward

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:59:00 -0700

PRESIDENT OBAMA: When you get in your car and you want to go forward, you put it in what?
AUDIENCE AT CHICAGO RENAISSANCE: “D!”
PRESIDENT OBAMA: “D.” (Laughter.) When you want to go backwards, what do you do? You put it in “R.” (Applause.) So that’s the choice.

"On issues ranging from the wars to the economy, three-term Republican incumbent Reichert is..."

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:06:04 -0700

“On issues ranging from the wars to the economy, three-term Republican incumbent Reichert is unstudied and comes up short. After six years in office, this is unacceptable.”

- Seattle Times in their editorial endorsing Suzan DelBene and Tim Dillon for Congress.

"For the first time, a federal court has conducted a trial and found that there is absolutely no..."

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:01:48 -0700

“For the first time, a federal court has conducted a trial and found that there is absolutely no reason to deny same-sex couples the fairness and dignity of marriage.”

- James Esseks, Director of the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project, hailing Judge Walker’s decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

"This ruling is an historic milestone for millions of loving families, for all who have fought to..."

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:55:00 -0700

“This ruling is an historic milestone for millions of loving families, for all who have fought to realize the dream of equality under the law, and for our nation as a whole”

- Courage Campaign Founder and Chairman Rick Jacobs, reacting to Judge Walker’s decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

Government is good

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:05:00 -0700

Government is good:

Think you and your family don’t need government and don’t benefit from investments in our common wealth? Think again.