Political Campaign Joke

I received this joke from a friend. Not sure where it originated. It seemed scarily appropriate for this time in our political history. - Nomad.

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While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you
Can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. "I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning...... Today you voted."

After the iPhone... the NuviPhone?

I love my iPhone and I love my Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS. But I can honestly say that I never looked at the two of them and thought, "Why can't they merge them into one unit?" And if I had, I definitely would never have preferred the Garmin's interface. But now, apparently, Garmin has decided that is EXACTLY what the People want and have announced The NuviPhone.

The device features full browsing, PIM, phone and of course, GPS functions. It's an HSDPA, quad-band phone, also equipped with WiFi, Bluetooth and a somewhat familiar ultrathin design with full touchscreen support. The unit will use Garmin's proprietary OS which is based on the UI its GPS units utilize, and sports a 3.5-inch LCD display

No word on price or release date. Although if it is in line with most Nuvi products, it'l; make the $400 iPhone price look like a bargain.

Viewing Ads to Help Others

While on Facebook, I noticed that one of my "friends" added an application called iRipple. iRipple links back to the website, Ripple. Ripple allows you to support four different charities by clicking a button to view an ad. Although I did not call up the charities to verify, they say that 100% of the ad revenue goes to charity and are authenticated by the charity. One of the charities, Oaktree Foundation, appears to be a Christian organization. Unfortunately, Oxfam supports abortion, so I prefer not to click on their button.

This site is similar to The Hunger Site, only it is a much cleaner interface and instead of once per day, you can click each button about once every 20 minutes. I believe there was some talk on Mod-Blog about The Hunger Site and wondering how much of the money went to the charities. The Hunger Site also claims to give 100% of the revenue from clicking to charity.

Edwards is out!

CNN is reporting that presidential candidate and persistent 5% of the votes-getter John Edwards is going to exit the race today. He is not expected to endorse anyone.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/30/edwards/index.html

This will finally bring down the Democratic contest to a two-person race (sorry, Mike Gravel, you don't count), and may make Super Tuesday provide us with a more clear outcome. We appear to be down to 2 on both sides now (John MCain and Mitt Romney, sorry Ron Paul) which is likely to polarize the parties and start people focussing on the general election.

Kung Fu Panda

It is worth seeing for the name alone.

McCain Wins Florida, Guiliani Prepares to Quit

Despite trends showing a jump in support for Mitt Romney, John McCain has been projected as the winner of Florida's primary. The big news here is not that McCain beat Romney, however, but that Mayor Rudolph Guiliani came in last. This after Guiliani had placed all of his hopes on winning Florida to provide momentum coming into Super Tuesday.

Now there are multiple reports that Guiliani will bail out on the race later this week... and endorse John McCain. Is this the end of the Republican race? Or just one more "Silver" medal for Romney?

Interesting story about Obama's character

A good story from Bill Richardson, which is telling if true, about Barack Obama.

I had just been asked a question -- I don't remember which one -- and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn't going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, 'So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?' But I wasn't paying any attention! I was about to say, 'Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening.' But I wasn't about to say I wasn't listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, 'Katrina. Katrina.' The question was on Katrina! So I said, 'On Katrina, my policy . . .' Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, 'Obama, that was good of you to do that.

This has the feel of one of those urban legends which wind up to have little if any truth to them. Similar to the "I can not tell a lie" quote attributed to a young George Washington. But we will see. It may simply be an indication of character.

Of course, the other point is to wonder what it means for Obama if people are already making up such stories about him. Does it mean he has truly captured the dreams of Americans.

PROOF: Dogs are the answer to ensuring Robots never rule the world

Interesting idea for a cheap Image Stabilizer

$1 Image Stabilizer For Any Camera - Lose The Tripod - video powered by Metacafe

Nick's Voice Goes Primetime!

Frequent commenter and Mod-Blog friend Nick went prime time last night! The results of his vocal chords could be clearly heard during the 2008 Figure Skating championships. Congratulations, Nick! Check out the recording below.

Two Major Religous Leaders Die

Two major religious leaders in the world died in the past couple of days. Gordon Hinckley, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints died at the age of 97. He did not have a particular illness and was said to have basically died of old age. The Church which is also known as Mormonism has 13 million members in the world. Also, Christodoulos the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox church died at the age of 69. There are 15 million Greek Orthodox Christians in the world today. (10 million of which are in Greece) It is interesting that these two men would basically die at the same time.

If Obama is inevitable, what then?

After Obama's landslide victory in South Carolina and his endorsement by the Kennedys, I have started to wonder if history is on the side of the Senator from Illinois. While Democrats and Independents are boarding the Obama train, Republicans are trying to figure out which candidate they dislike the least. Many Conservatives are even considering voting for Obama over the "wrong" GOP candidate.

If - and yes, I know it is WAAAY to early to count out Hillary Clinton, much less John McCain, Mitt Romney, or even Rudy Guiliani - but *if* this is the case, how do Moderates and Conservatives ensure that they have a seat at the table in an Obama White House? Should Republicans look to capitalize on the bad blood with the Clintons? Should they appeal to the legacy of Lincoln? Or should they instead look for a way to inoculate the electorate against his likely policies?

What are your thoughts?

Adopt-A-Terrorist

I found the following advertisement during my trip this last weekend, and was interested in seeing the responses of Mod-Blog readers. It appears to be associated with this website.

My idea of Fun, Shadowmom's Idea of Hades

Painful, but True

Why John Edwards should NEVER be President

I doubt John Edwards ever had a hope of getting the vote of any of our Mod-Blog posters, but he has been getting a slightly better percentage of votes than Ron Paul in this year's primary process. This piece lays out the argument for why even die-hard Democrats probably should walk away from the Other John.

Edwards has made much of his renunciation of his Iraq War vote. But he has not stopped there. His entire campaign has been an orgy of regret and renunciation.

-- As senator, he voted in 2001 for a bankruptcy bill that he now denounces.
-- As senator, he voted for storing nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Twice. He is now fiercely opposed.
-- As senator, he voted for the Bush-Kennedy No Child Left Behind education reform. He now campaigns against it, promising to have it "radically overhauled."
-- As senator, he voted for the Patriot Act, calling it "a good bill ... and I am pleased to support it." He now attacks it.
-- As senator, he voted to give China normalized trade relations. Need I say? He now campaigns against liberalized trade with China as a sellout of the middle class to the great multinational agents of greed, etc.

Breathtaking. People can change their minds about something. But everything? The man served one term in the Senate. He left not a single substantial piece of legislation to his name, only an astonishing string of votes on trade, education, civil liberties, energy, bankruptcy and, of course, war that now he not only renounces but inveighs against.

America is forgiving of politicians who change their mind. Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat. Hillary Clinton was a Young Republican. Mitt Romney was once Pro-Choice. But can we really accept a man who is running on a platform 180 degrees opposite of his own record? And should the Democrats be afraid that such a man might be "kingmaker" at a divided Democratic convention?

Happy Birthday Quizwedge

Get Smart: International Trailer

Is it bad that I am looking forward to this more than Indiana Jones 4?

Dennis Kucinich drops out

After a lackluster - but philosophically pure - run for the President, Dennis Kucinich has left the race. The reason? He is being challenged for his seat in Congress, and wants to ensure his minority within a minority voice is still heard.

I can honestly say there was never ANY chance that I'd have voted for the Congressman, but his departure will make the race less interesting... and less litigious.

Christianity Today Interviews Obama

It is good to get to hear him talk in a Christian context. I still believe that his faith, and the prominent place that he has been willing to put on it, has a lot to do with some of his troubles as the potential Democratic candidate. Of course, fighting a Clinton is always going to be tough, but it is especially so in a party where you can go to a place like DU or Kos and regularly find Christians denounced as the most vile thing in America. In a way, I really do hope that Obama gets the Democratic nod becuase it will force the issue on the Democratic side. With that said, there are serious issues I cannot overlook concerning Obama, particularly with his view on abortion.

I don't know anybody who is pro-abortion. I think it's very important to start with that premise. I think people recognize what a wrenching, difficult issue it is. I do think that those who diminish the moral elements of the decision aren't expressing the full reality of it. But what I believe is that women do not make these decisions casually, and that they struggle with it fervently with their pastors, with their spouses, with their doctors.

Our goal should be to make abortion less common, that we should be discouraging unwanted pregnancies, that we should encourage adoption wherever possible. There is a range of ways that we can educate our young people about the sacredness of sex and we should not be promoting the sort of casual activities that end up resulting in so many unwanted pregnancies.

Ultimately, women are in the best position to make a decision at the end of the day about these issues. With significant
constraints. For example, I think we can legitimately say — the state can legitimately say — that we are prohibiting late-term abortions as long as there's an exception for the mother's health. Those provisions that I voted against typically didn't have those exceptions, which raises profound questions where you might have a mother at great risk. Those are issues that I don't think the government can unilaterally make a decision about. I think they need to be made in consultation with doctors, they have to be prayed upon, or people have to be consulting their conscience on it. I think we have to keep that decision-making with the person themselves.

There are several points in here that suggest that Obama's philosophy are drastically varied from anything I can consider acceptable. First off, the claim that women do not enter into abortion lightly has been shown, in many cases, to not be true. As a matter of fact, disturbing numbers of women are admitting to using abortion as a late birth control. To suggest that this is not an issue is to either 1) Have no clue or 2) be lying. Second, this same tired argument that women are best suited to decide because it is their bodies.

This is as old-school pro-abortion talk as you can get. It completely disregards the fact that there are TWO, and not one, bodies affected by abortion. Obama is allowing himself to be compliant, at the very least, in arguing that the life within the womb is not a life with any rights, even up to the last term. That is an entirely unacceptable view for me. He is either pandering or he truly believes that life does not have any meaning until you are born, which means his views on abortion would be as extreme as anyone in this country.

Coulter on McCain

Ann might have jumped the shark a ways back, but you have admit that she can still make a point with very few words...

John McCain is Bob Dole minus the charm, conservatism and youth.

God Without the Fuss

A lengthy read on all that is right and wrong with Joel Osteen. I would encourage anyone who wants to know more about Joel and his brand of preaching and theology to take the time to read it.

Honestly, I was just ready for ANYTHING but politics

I'm all for "hope" and ready for "change", but I'd rather get started today than wait another year to get started. Let's start making the changes we can today. Don't forget, we don't always need to wait for our leaders.

Biofuels BAD for the environment

I had heard about the possibility of biofuels being bad before, but this is the first report I've seen that has actually come out and said that the rush to biofuels could actually be a bad thing. There are three basic theories that are at work here. First by using corn and other food products for fuel you are depriving people of food - particularly poor people. When the amount of food supply goes down the demand goes up along with the price - thus also depriving poor people of their corn/food. The second theory is that biofuels are now becoming a cash crop, so people are going to use up as much usable land as possible to grow those crops - including valuable rain forest land. The last theory is that because biofuels require a lot of water, much of the usable water in developing countries will be used and thus there will be less usable water for those who actually need to use it. If anything this is a wakeup call to be mindful of the side effects of the rush to save the planet.

Gas Prices

Gas Prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Free Streaming Music

Last.FM, having been bought out by CBS has announced that the four major labels will offer free streaming content at Last.FM. The catch? You can only listen to full albums 3 times, unless you delete your cookies.

In Defense of John McCain

In the spirit of fairness, here is a spirited defense of John McCain by Michale Medved. He lays out his defense well by responding to the 6 main attacks leveed at McCain.

Why You Should Vote For Rudy...and Not John McCain

Dennis Prager has up a good article explaining why Conservatives should vote for Rudy Guliani. In the article he also lays out some good reasons why conservatives should not vote for John McCain. It is not too long and definitely worth a read.

Huckabee's cash is going the way of Fred Thompson

It is being widely reported now that Mike Huckabee's campaign is critically short of funds with many workers accepting no salary or simply quitting for lack of payment. With Florida coming, which requires expensive television advertising, and Tsunami Tuesday after that with multiple states to cover in a very short time period, questions are being raised as to whether Huckabee can go the distance.

Campaign contributions continue to come in, he said. But he acknowledged that Huckabee is stretched thin as he tries to compete in Florida's primary and many of the two dozen states holding contests Feb. 5.
Huckabee's campaign has stopped arranging charter flights, hotel reservations and other means of helping journalists keep up with his movements. News organizations pay their own expenses, but empty seats on charter planes were costing the campaign money.
"We are running our campaign in a very frugal manner," Huckabee said. "We have operated in the black. If we don't have it, we don't expend it."

This, of course raises the question of whether Social Conservatives will have a horse left in the race for Tsunami Tuesday. Could the race be transformed if they are forced to embrace Mitt Romney, to avoid voting for Rudy Guiliani or John McCain? Or will one of them be able to make the argument and re-form the Reagan coalition? Or will Mike Huckabee see a miraculous comeback?

And I have to wonder, if not for McCain-Feingold, would Huckabee be able to stay in the race longer?

The Republican Primary and CD Sales

The National Review has an interesting article comparing the Republican primaries to the state of CD sales. One of the most interesting quotes, CD sale-wise was, "At the end of the session the EMI bosses thanked them for their comments and told them to help themselves to a big pile of CDs sitting on a table. But none of the teens took any of the CDs, even though they were free. That was the moment we realized the game was completely up."

Analysis of Fred Thompson's Fall

This is the best analysis I have seen of the pros and cons of Fred Thompson's run for the Presidency.

He was NOT lazy; his command of policy equaled or exceeded that of his rivals, and he was, as he said, pretty clearly a consistent conservative for his public life. But his staff was poorly managed; it started much too late; his campaign was riven by internal fueds and suspicions: one faction accused the other of leaking to reporters.

Here's hoping Fred makes a return in some form, perhaps as VP.

Heath Ledger Dead

Heath Ledger has apparently died of an overdose. It's a shame that young stars continue to believe that they can live this sort of lifestyle. It's cliche and you would think that they would start to catch on eventually, but sadly they don't seem to. I have been a fan of Ledger for a long time, ever since Ten Things I Hate About You, and especially A Knight's Tale and have been really looking forward to the Dark Knight.

Fred Thompson Officially Leaves the Race

Fred Thompson has posted a statement on his website having officially withdrawn from the presidential race. I will miss him in this race. If only he could have energized his campaign, I could see myself voting for him. Interestingly, Thompson has chosen not to endorse anyone. I had read that it was assumed he would throw his support to his friend, John McCain.

Posted for Sean

If you doubted that the mortgage crisis was serious...

...check out this article.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080122/D8UAU89G1.html

Bank of American and Wachovia, two of the largest banks in the USA, saw their profits down by 95 to 98%! I am expecting the bank I work for did much better in the same time period, but we'll know soon. Expect this kind of news to push the Economy to the top of the Presidential debate. Say it with me again, "It's the economy, stupid!"

Is America ready for a President who is not a White Male?

For years, common wisdom has held that the last "White Men Only" club in America has been the presidency. This year, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are trying to challenge that assumption. But is America ready for the change?

...the CNN poll today shows that 72% of whites and 61% of blacks believe the country is ready for a black president. That's up from 65% and 54%, respectively, two years ago. (Both polls have a margin of error of +/-4.5%.)

But asked if the country is ready for a female president, blacks and whites both are in agreement; they're less sure -- only 63% of both whites and blacks answer yes. That's up slightly (from 58%) for whites but down among blacks from 67% since December, 2006.

Interestingly, men and women remain in agreement on this issue, too. In 2006, 60% of both genders said yes and this time it's 65% female and 64% male.

My own guess has been for a while that America wants a black president before a female president.

Why I Should Vote For McCain

For about a month and a half now, I have been considering voting for McCain. Saying that sounds so completely foreign to me, that I have spent this time trying to both find reasons not to vote for McCain and reasons to vote for one of the other candidates. CRChair has both asked why he should vote for Huckabee and stated why he won't be voting for McCain. Here is my logic for why I should vote for McCain.

First, let's start with the field of candidates:

Rudy Giuliani - His decidedly pro-abortion stance and liberal views has knocked him out as a candidate in my mind.

Mitt Romney - I just don't trust him. He reminds me too much of Kerry. He'd probably do a great job if he would pick a side and stick to his guns, but I can't vote for him without knowing who he is.

Ron Paul - He has many online supporters and I'll probably be blasted for this, but he's crazy. When I hear his ideas, I think, "That would have been great information to have when we were making the wrong decision." Getting us back to the gold standard just won't work without a complete upheaval and revaluing of things. Personally, I don't want my house value to drop just so we can get back on a gold standard.

Alan Keyes - With less visibility than Duncan Hunter or Tom Tancredo, Keyes may be the only person who seriously thinks he's running... and even he may not think that. Besides, he's already lost to Obama once. Going up against Clinton would be even worse.

Fred Thompson - I like Fred Thompson. He's one of my top three picks. Unfortunately, he's rumored to be leaving the race. Even if he doesn't, he's not running like he wants to be president. Clinton would chew him up in the general election. I'd like to see him make a strong run or even be the VP on the ticket, but I don't see it as a winning ticket.

Mike Huckabee - He's a second of my top three picks. He's got support, especially among religious conservatives. Unfortunately, while he's socially conservative, he's fiscally liberal. Huckabee would be like having four or eight more years of GWB, but with less foreign policy experience than GWB currently has. I feel like I voted for the social conservative and got duped the first time GWB ran, so I'm hesitant to vote for the same thing again. I do like the idea of not having an income tax, but a national sales tax promotes saving, not spending. I don't know if our economy could handle less spending.

John McCain - That leaves John McCain. I hate to vote for someone because they're the last one left. After all, he could just be the last one I looked at and be worse than the other candidates.

First, I'll answer Matt's points.

Age: Yes, McCain is the oldest candidate, but then, so was Reagan when he ran. People are living longer and McCain will be younger than when Reagan left office. That being said, age isn't really that important. Health is. If McCain is healthy enough to be president for one term, then age shouldn't be a factor. After all, President Harrison died of pneumonia shortly after taking office. None of us are guaranteed life, that is why we have measures set up to take over the office if the president should fall sick or die.

Immigration: Yes, McCain has been soft on immigration, but he also realizes that we need to fix the problem of illegal immigration by securing our borders before we start kicking people out. Otherwise, we'll just have to kick them out again and again.

Fiscal Responsibility: This is actually one of the reasons I am voting for McCain. He is against pork spending and realizes that we need to be good stewards of our money. Yes, he did vote against the tax cuts, but that was because we needed to cut spending. Cutting spending means that someone is upset about not getting as much federal money. Tax cuts resonate well with constituents. McCain wanted to make sure that spending was cut rather than furthering the national debt and knew that without a tax cut, spending wouldn't be cut.

Pro-Life: Yet another reason that I am voting for McCain. The National Right To Life PAC has up a PDF with the candidates views here, but the do not appear to fully quote McCain. While McCain is OK with stem cell research on existing lines and in cases of in-vitro fertilization, he is not OK with creating new stem-cell lines. Would I like him to be against all stem cell research? Yes. Personally, I haven't seen evidence of neonatal stem cell research taking off. The advances seem to be in adult stem cell research. That being said, McCain does make the point "I would remind you that these stem cells are either going to be discarded or perpetually frozen. We need to do what we can to relieve human suffering. It's a tough issue. I support federal funding." I have an easier time agreeing with babies that will be discarded. I, admittedly, have a hard time agreeing with purposefully destroying babies that are in a frozen state. I'd much rather see them used for couples that desperately want to have a baby, can't, but would be willing to carry another's baby from their in-vitro attempt. You can see McCain's voting record and his National Right To Life report card.

McCain-Feingold: I agree with McCain that political votes should not be bought. Having contribution limits is one way to do this. The other part of the bill, the part that limits free speech is the bigger issue in my mind. This part should be overturned by the courts.

The McCain Surprise: McCain is a maverick, but he's a maverick that sticks to his guns. If we realize what it is we're voting for, I don't think there will be too many surprises. He also has a lifetime conservative rating of 83% from The American Conservative Union. In comparison, Fred Thompson has an 86% rating.

Is McCain a perfect candidate? Absolutely not. As I stated above, McCain-Feingold, while good intentioned, should not have passed as it restricts free speech. I'd like to see McCain not only be anti-abortion, but also be anti-stem cell research. I don't agree with him on his views on the environment.

I do think that he will vote conservatively when it comes to abortion and I do think he will help rein in the federal budget, which will in turn help cut taxes and bring about a turn in the economy. I also think he can win. He won conservative South Carolina. Rasmussen Reports gives him an over 50% chance of becoming the Republican nominee. At the end of December, they had him beating Clinton 49% to 43% (Google cache).

What worries me about McCain? First and foremost, in the past McCain has not been known as being the friend of the conservative. Why am I leaning towards McCain? What am I missing? Second, I fear that he will choose Joseph Lieberman as his running mate. Lieberman is more liberal than McCain which would trouble me. Hopefully McCain will choose a more conservative running mate who has the heart of the evangelical voters... perhaps a McCain-Huckabee ticket? This would bring in the evangelical voters while giving Huckabee the foreign policy experience he would need to make a run for president following McCain.

Will I vote for McCain? As far as I can tell, I think I should. He appears to fit my views more than the other candidates and he has a chance to win. That being said, why should I vote for your candidate instead?

Fighting Back Against Real ID

On May 11, 2005, the REAL ID Act was passed as part of a military spending bill. On March 2, 2007, enforcement was postponed to December 2009 and then again until 2011. What is the REAL ID Act? The theory is that it will tighten our borders and prevent another 9/11. One of the ways it attempts to do this is establish a national standard for driver's licenses / state identification cards and then establish a linked database. The problems with this act are numerous. First, the federal government is interfering with a state issue. Second, the federal government is not only mandating this, but requiring the states to foot the bill. Third, by linking the state databases together and having a national standard, we are basically at a national ID card - something that has been resisted because it brings to mind the idea of the Soviet Union and needing papers to travel from state to state. Fourth, it is wasteful spending in that most, if not all, of the 9/11 hijackers had valid ID. They would not have been flagged any differently than they were on that day. (Information about the REAL ID Act taken from Wikipedia.)

Unfortunately, my state, California has decided to go right along with the federal government. Montana, however, has led the charge in refusing to go along. Other states are also opposing the legislation. The Department of Homeland Security has stated that those who do not have a valid Real ID license (or other federally recognized ID such as a passport) will not be able to use their license as ID for federal purposes. This includes boarding airplanes without being subjected to increased security checks. The DHS is betting that citizens will complain to and blame their state governments. State governments are betting that citizens will agree with them and place the blame fully on the DHS. Citizens of these states will need to start providing alternative ID or be subjected to further security checks as of May 11, 2008. Not only will air travel be hindered, but you'll need a federal ID to "open a bank account, collect Social Security payments, or take advantage of nearly any government service."

I fear it's too late for California, but those in a state where there has not been major headway made can still contact your state leaders and push back against Real ID.

Update 1: Looks like there is some money available, but it basically amounts to pennies on the dollar.

Connecticut Primary Polls

For the first time this election cycle I was able to find an article with the current poll numbers for the presidential primaries in Connecticut. WTNH television is reporting that the current poll numbers are:

Republicans
1. McCain 35%
2. Guliani 16%
3. Romney 11%

Democrats
1. Clinton 41%
2. Obama 27%
3. Edwards 9%

Reality Check: Barack Obama is a Christian

I am getting very tired of the meme running around that Barack Obama is a Muslim. It has been circulating the Web, and being used by some people as a reason NOT to vote for him. And figures as prominent as Ross Perot have been caught repeating the line, because they assume it is true.

IT IS NOT TRUE. Here is his church's website. Barack Obama is at least a nominal Christian, and has been a regular attender at this church for over 20 years. Please pass that along to ANYONE who tries to peddle the "Obama is a Muslim" meme.

That is not to say there are not reasons to NOT vote for Senator Obama. His church is definitely NOT mainstream, and I was unable to find (in a quick search) any idea of their Christology or doctrine of salvation. Their ideas are definitely far off from my own. So, criticize the man for the beliefs he actually holds, not for beliefs others try to place upon him.

And, for the record, no one has yet really given me an idea of why a liberal Muslim would be any worse a leader for our national than a Mormon (Romney), Deist (Washington, Jefferson), or Catholic (Kennedy). Or even a Born-Again Christian (George W. Bush).

Edited 3:11 PM to remove quotes around "Christian" in the title. As Sean showed, it came across differently than I intended.

Editted 4:22 PM. People have brought up the rumors that Obama took his oath on the Koran. NOT TRUE. Obama was sworn in on a Bible. Keith Ellison was the Muslim congressman who was sworn in on a Koran. According to my research, he is the only person to do in history.

Tax Rebate Checks Considered

President Bush and Congress, concerned about the potential cost of government assistant programs should a deep recession hit, are considering offering $800 rebate checks for singles and $1,600 rebate checks for married couples. The idea is that people will spend that money which will boost the economy. The rebate program could cost $150 billion, but the government estimates that spending $150 billion could save them $500 billion. Will it work? It could, so long as people spend the money, but with everyone feeling a crunch, many may use it just to pay bills and save, leaving the government in a potentially worse situation.

I miss Calvin & Hobbes

Does Talk Radio Matter Anymore?

Will talk radio play a role in this year's election? Michael Medved has up an interesting piece on the lack of effectiveness of the major conservative talk show hosts in affecting the South Carolina primary. Wit Rush and Sean Hannity (plus a slew of other conservatives) questioning both McCain and Huckabee's conservativeness, they both were a distant 1st and 2nd in the South Carolina primary which is thought of as a conservative state.

Duncan Hunter says bye-bye

The champion of border security has finally left the GOP race, after losing convincingly to "uncommitted" in Nevada.

Mobile Phone radiation reduces sleep effectiveness

A new study by the cell phone manufacturer suggests that exposure to cellular radiation at night may reduce the quality of sleep, and prevent the brain from reaching the lower levels of sleep needed to fully recover from a day's stress.

Radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep, and causes headaches and confusion, according to a new study.

The research, sponsored by the mobile phone companies themselves, shows that using the handsets before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them, interfering with the body's ability to repair damage suffered during the day.

The findings are especially alarming for children and teenagers, most of whom – surveys suggest – use their phones late at night and who especially need sleep. Their failure to get enough can lead to mood and personality changes, ADHD-like symptoms, depression, lack of concentration and poor academic performance.

I first heard about this study a few weeks ago, and decided to try an experiment for myself. Since I had gotten my iPhone, I had been sleeping with it on my alarm clock, near the head of my bed. I moved the phone across the room or sometimes to another room entirely during evening hours. Since then, I have indeed found my sleep to be considerably improved in quality, and I am waking up less often at night. Of course, my results are only anecdotal and may well be psychosomatic in nature. But I'd encourage our other Mod-Blog readers to do the same and see if they have the same results.

Winners and Losers

The results are in!

• Romney won Nevada with 51%
• Clinton won Nevada with 51% (but Obama gets the same number of delegates)
• McCain wins South Carolina with 33%
• Fred Thompson is widely expected to announce his departure from the race today or tomorrow.

Next up, Florida.

Star Wars Guide to the 2008 Primaries

When I first saw the Star Wars Guide to the candidates, I thought it was a cheap attempt at bad humor. Turns out I was both right and wrong. I found myself quickly transitioning from skepticism to unwilling laughter. Click on thru for the whole thing.

Grand Moff Giuliani

We need a president who has experience running a large, unwieldy government. Like the Empire. "Hey, they said it was unmanageable, ungovernable... a large majority wanted to leave and live somewhere else," his campaign ads say. Well, Giuliani certainly turned things around... he built the Death Star! "By the time I left office," he continues, "the Death Star was the best example of conservative government in the galaxy!" Some folks might disagree with his foreign policy, though, consisting as it does of pretty much blasting whole planets into rubble.

I honestly believe if this list were to appear in local newspapers, it might actually sway some voters in South Carolina and Nevada.

Conan vs Colbert: This could be interesting

Warm Up With Wii, Perform Better Surgery

If only I was a surgical resident, I could justify getting a Wii as an educational expense. Two surgeons have found that using games on the Wii that require fine movement before surgery helped surgical students make fewer mistakes. They hope to use it as a platform to create training tools that can be used by doctors in third world countries due to a Wii being more affordable than other options.

A Happy Trend - Abortion On the Decline

The article pretty much speaks for itself.

The number of abortions in the United States fell to the lowest level since the procedure was made legal some 35 years ago, according to a national study released Thursday.

The Guttmacher Institute... said there were about 1.2 million abortions in 2005 -- 25 percent fewer than in 1990, when the number of abortions was about 1.6 million procedures.

In 2005, the US abortion rate was 19.4 abortions for every 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44, according to figures compiled from surveying abortion providers. The 2005 figure represented an eight percent drop from the number of abortions in 2000.

The finding underscores a continued a downward trend that started after the abortion rate peaked at 29.3 procedures per 1,000 women in 1981, according to the institute.

Of course, it would be better to see even fewer. But the continuing decline of abortions is an encouraging trend, and gives hope that one day they may be essentially confined to the hard cases: rape, incest, and life of the mother.

Time for a Multi-Party American Political System?

This is not really "news", as the poll came out in July of 2007. But in light of the generally disarray and the appetite of the voters for "Change" (without a clear idea of what they want to change to) it seems relevant. A recent Zogby poll shows that most Americans - even a large number of those in the two parties - are ready for a multi-party political system.

The newsletter survey also shows that, by a wide majority, most Americans are displeased with the current two–party political system. Two out of three adults – 67% – said they were dissatisfied with the Democrat–versus–Republican dominated system, while just 31% said they were happy with it...

Asked if they thought a system that included more political parties would make the country’s politics better, 53% agreed. Liberals were more interested in new options, the poll shows – 64% of liberals said more parties would improve the system, compared to just 38% of conservatives who said the same thing. Among Democrats, 58% said they believed more parties would improve the system, compared to just 38% of Republicans who agreed. Among independents, 64% agreed more political parties would help.

This plays to the dream of the so-called "Unity08 Party" which wants to run Mike Bloomberg. However, it sounds to me like people are more interested in parties that really reflect their own views. One wonders if it is time for serious third parties like the Constitution and Green parties to start looking for coalitions that can truly challenge the entrenched system.

Then again, I think I said the same thing the last time around, and no third party was a significant factor.

He Said What?!?

Well, this quote from McCain is already making it's way around the blogsphere, and it seems for good reason.

"I believe my party has gone astray...I think the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have no problems with it, in their views and their philosophy."

Now, there is an important caveat that some conservative bloggers seem to be leaving out of that quote. And it's important to look at what it was he was speaking on in particular.

"I believe my party has gone astray," McCain said yesterday, singling out GOP stands on environmental issues and racial set-asides.

"I think the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have no problems with it, in their views and their philosophy," he said.

Now let's be honest, those are two very different quotes so I can't figure out why some conservative bloggers aren't using their brains enough on this one. Or maybe they just genuinely want any ammo on McCain that they can get. I mean, I happen to agree with him about the environmental question anyway. So what would possibly lead someone like John Hawkins of Right Wing News to write

"If John McCain is the Republican Party's nominee, we will essentially have two Democrats running for the presidency."

Really? Because when I think McCain, I think Democrat! Or not...Seriously. This is absurd. Is McCain too willing to badmouth his party for a little good press? Absolutely. But to argue that McCain getting the nomination would amount to two Democrats running? The man has one of the most conservative voting records in government, with the exception of his very un-Republican immigration talk.

How I Got a Free iPod Nano

I'm a sucker when it comes to free contests. I'll go to car dealerships just to get the freebies they give out. Having been stuck in the mindset of wanting an iPod but not being able to justify the cost to benefit ratio, iPodsweepstakes.com interested me. Upon signing up, you get 200 points free. By filling out online forms for offers, information, etc. you get points towards a free iPod, iPhone, or iTunes gift card. 1,000 points gets you a free 1 GB iPod Shuffle or $75 iTunes gift card. 2,000 points gets you a free 4GB iPod Nano. 3,000 points gets you a free 80 GB iPod Classic. Finaly, 5,000 points gets you a free iPhone (although in the comparison specs they show an iPod Touch).

While it took at least a year of on and off filling out forms (most of the free offers are only a few points), we received our iPod Nano yesterday. If you're like me or you just want $75 to iTunes, this could be for you. One of the nice things is that you can get it on your own without having to pay any money and without having to rope in your friends. (That being said, you do get 100 points for getting five friends to sign up. The link above is not my referral link. I will post my referral link in the comments to keep this post mostly spam free.)

WARNING: You WILL get a tons of junk mail and junk e-mail by signing up for these things. I suggest you use a separate e-mail address that you can kill off after getting your reward.

iTunes vs. Netflix

I have not had an opportunity to try out either iTunes movie rentals or Netflix streaming (though my wife has used the Netflix streaming with a free trial we had). The news has been trying to pit Netflix vs. Apple, but I think that this blog post in the NY Times hits the nail on the head. Apple is really competing with Blockbuster (and the on demand cable options). Apple will have many newer titles that Netflix just can't afford to have with its unlimited streaming. I think it will also appeal to completely different audiences, albeit with some overlap. Personally, I have no interest in paying $3.99 for a rental that I can only watch for 24 hours. I'd much rather use a DVD-by-mail program or Redbox at $1 per day. The people this will appeal to are those who will be going on a trip and want to watch it on their iPod, those who for one reason or another can't get out of the house at the time, or impulse renters. Netflix's streaming will appeal more to people like me (budget conscious, knows how to hook up their laptop to the tv, doesn't mind watching older movies/shows). I think both programs will do well, but I see this as being another nail in Blockbuster's coffin, not Netflix's.

What Would Ross Perot Do?

Newsweek has up an interesting article by Jonathan Alter which is his retelling of a recent phone call that he received from Ross Perot. That's right, the same Ross Perot who ran for President in 1992. He is now 77 years Old and doesn't plan to get involved in Politics. Here are the highlights of the article:

1. Perot does not like John McCain personally or as a politician.

2. Perot plans on voting for Mitt Romney in the Texas Republican Primary.

3. Perot knew very little about Barak Obama.

The article is quick reading and worth a look.

WHAT IF: Will the GOP need a compromise candidate?

Not for the first time, political analysts are raising the specter of a Republican convention with no clear nominee which would require political wheeling and dealing in order to come up with a candidate for president. The pundits are mostly pointing back to the convention that nominated Dewey, who lost to the Democrat Truman. But I am starting to wonder if they should be looking back to the convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln - arguably one of the greatest presidents and UNarguably the greatest Republican president. (I think even Reagan himself would agree to that.)

It is too soon to really think this is a certainty, but it is not too soon to see that we may be a Lincoln-esque juncture in American history. Like Lincoln, we have a highly polarized America (him: slave/free, us: red/blue). Like Lincoln, we face a time of unique pressures and the war (him: civil war, us: War on Terror). Like Lincoln, we see a Republican party desperate to define itself and to resolve the splinters within (him: abolitionism vs states rights, us: religious values vs economic conservatism).

Does the Republican Party have a Lincoln this time around? Do we have a compromise candidate who can both be the standard-bearer, and re-unify the party? Lincoln used the Civil War as a means to reforge the party by recruiting his former rivals to his cabinet. Do we have anyone running now who can do that? Or is there anyone waiting in the wings who could do so?

I am interested to see the opinions of Mod-Bloggers on this topic. I have my own thoughts about who has the potential to do this, and who does not. But I want to ready your opinions first.

CORRECTED: Obama flirts with greatness, egomania

CORRECTION: Bowhunter is correct. I misheard the quote. I am going to wimp out and blame the fact that I am still recovering from the flu, which may have clogged my ears. Obama does say "I DO NOT want to portray myself as a singular individual." My apologies. - Nomad

Take a look at this clip from an Obama interview earlier today. In it, he calls himself a "singular individual" in the model of Reagan. Someone who can "change the directory of America" in way that Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon could not.

This kind of talk reflects the sense of destiny that Obama feels, and speaks to the possibility of greatness, since this sense may give him the ability to reach across the aisle in ways that Bush never could. On the other hand, it flirts with egomania as Obama almost sounds like the ruler who once proclaimed "I am France!"

When Squirrels Attack

This is an older story, but I've been going through e-mail, catching up. A squirrel was able to knock out power to almost 7,000 power company customers. Let the Squirrel jokes begin.

Is America Selling Itself Off to Oblivion?

Pat Buchanon has up a very interesting article on the current US financial situation. He makes some good points and gives us a stiff warning that we must strengthen the dollar and our economy soon. It is definitely worth a read whether or not you usually agree with him.

Hard Teachings: the "Gospel of Life" or the "Gospel of Life-After-Death"

I have been very thankful of late that God has brought me across a lot of Christians whose beliefs I am not only in disagreement with, but which sometimes shock me. In my earlier years, most of my "shocks" were constrained to my interactions with strict Catholics (salvation by works) and militant charismatics (salvation by speaking in tongues). I generally felt like the "enlightened" and "tolerant" one, because I could answer their arguments easily and show that my faith was superior and more thought out. They sometimes respected my calm, reasoned approach, and sometimes told me frankly that they thought I was damned. But generally, I walked away unchanged from the experience. But these recent "shocks" have been far more useful because (1) I walk away humbled and (2) the arguments are often those I can't easily answer.

Take for instance this post from a "reformed Christian" (and he doesn't mean the classical definition). This Christian went to a funeral of a teen killed in a driving accident, where he faced a eulogy given by an evangelistically-minded pastor who used it as an opportunity to reach out to those who would not normally see the inside of a church, and gave a gospel message. My reaction would have been "Well done. Take every opportunity to present the gospel." His reaction, "This man is trying to deny the family their right to grieve, and is preaching a gospel of death." Wow.

Click on thru, if you are up to a challenge to the "Evangelical" view. But be aware there is some strong (some would say profane) language, due to the emotions involved. I originally hesitated to post this, because I knew it would disturb some and because I feel the poster is wrong on many points. But I think it is a useful article for illustrating the kinds of hard questions we really need to be thinking about and ready to answer for ourselves.

AT&T DSL Is Back Up!

In case you've missed the story, it starts here with an update here.

My AT&T DSL is now up! It only took a little over two weeks, but my AT&T DSL is now up and working. Here is the rest of what I have had to do.

Approximately 3PM today: I called AT&T to discuss my bill. I received a bill more than double what I should have had to pay due to the DSL modem being sent out even though I did not request it. During this phone call I found out that my DSL connection had been order and got the order number. The "turn on" date is 1/17/2008. I was then transferred to the appropriate office for getting credit on my DSL modem which UPS confirmed had been delivered. That credit is supposed to take effect Thursday. Unless there are issues, I won't follow up with a post on it, but I will be checking back with AT&T to confirm that the credit does go through. After getting off the phone, I give a call to a contact that I've recently made at AT&T who said that s/he would be able to help me once the order got placed. I left a message for him/her with the order number. (I am purposefully leaving details out in case this person was not supposed to offer to be so helpful. You know who you are and if you happen to find this blog post, I'd like to say that I'm extremely grateful for your help.)

Approximately 4:45PM today: I look outside my front window and see an AT&T van. There is someone working on the phone box at the side of house. I go out to see if the DSL is, in fact, hooked up. He confirms that it is now hooked up. I was not able to test it right away.

6:45PM today: DSL light is blinking green and red. I call tech support. They have me try a different phone jack which works. I had changed which line the original phone jack was hooked up to and forgot to secure the screws that held the wires.

7:00PM today: I've got DSL, but I can't connect to the internet. My username and password are not working. I get connected with the right person. He tells me that my account is not scheduled to go live until 1/17/2008, but after I explained to him the situation, he agreed to do what he could do. After trying a few things, we reactivate my old account and get me up and running. Process took awhile, but here I am. (At least on one computer... now I have to get it back up with wireless, etc.)

I would also like to thank the person who recognized that the final disconnect as well as the entire process were taking entirely too long. S/he was able to get my case escalated. I am extremely greatful to you as well.

In the end, AT&T has waived the activation fee, credited me two months of internet service, and given me a 6 MB / 768k line for the price of a 3 MB / 512k line for one year. Their lousy service has been, for the most part, inexcusable; however, there have been a few shining stars that have worked hard to make things as right as they could. AT&T, you have some good staff who could turn your company's image around if you would just give them the tools they need to quickly fix company mistakes.

MacWorld Realities

The "SteveNote" is done and he announced:
- The new "Time Capsule" - an Airport Extreme with a built-in Hard Drive for TimeMachine to backup to wirelessly
- An upgrade to the iPhone software which brings pseudo-GPS along with other new features
- An upgrade to the iPod Touch which brings iPhone apps to it
- The iPhone SDK (which will actually release in February)
- An upgrade to the AppleTV software which brings iTunes Store integration and Flickr integration (and a price drop)
- The New MacBook Air, which is an ultrathin laptop with no optical drive and an entirely green production method.

Interesting. I still would rather have seen changes to AppleTV to integrate it with over-the-air (or over-cable) TV technology, but I never really expected that to come to pass. My only real fault of the thing is that it will cost iPod Touch owners $20 to get the iPhone apps. This makes NO sense, since there was no incremental cost to deploy them there (people have had jailbroken iPod Touches using these apps since day 1).

Happy MacWorld!

MacWorld officially began yesterday, but today is the "Stevenote" - the annual keynote presentation by Steve Jobs which is traditionally used to announce Apple's biggest products. Last year, it was used to formally announce the iPhone.

This year, the rumor ecosystem is rife with speculation: an ultraportable MacBook, a Mac tablet PC, a souped-up AppleTV (with BluRay or TV recording built-in), online movie rentals, a 3G iPhone, and "Product X - a new game-changer" have all been posited. For now, all we know is that Apple has posted banners which proclaim "Something is in the Air."

Click here for a liveblog of the Stevenote as it happens at 9 AM PST (12 noon EST). It will automatically detect an iPhone or iPod Touch and format itself appropriately.

Creating a Living Artificial Heart

This has the potential to revolutionize the organ transplant process. Rather than risk rejection, just grow a new organ using your cells! The issue that the scientists tackled is the structure. They were able to successfully pull out all of the cells from a dead heart and then insert non-embryonic stem cells to create a working heart that should, in theory, be a perfect match for the stem cell donor. Yet another win for non-embryonic stem cells.

NetFlix Makes Themselves More Attractive

NetFlix has announced that they have changed their streaming to unlimited for almost every single plan. I have not switched from BlockBuster Online to Netflix yet, but this makes it even more tempting. Unfortunately, the streaming is only for those with a Windows computer. While, according to the article, they only have 6,000 titles online, there is always Redbox at $1 per night for any movie that I "have to see right away" that isn't online.

On a recent visit to BlockBuster, I asked one of the employees if they were losing online customers. He said that between the price change and numerous other problems (that I hadn't heard of), they are. Seems to me that BlockBuster hurt itself more by operating at a loss than it would have by working with a viable business model.

Netflix announced this to compete against a planned Apple announcement of being able to rent downloaded movies for $3.99.

AT&T Update

This is an update to the post entitled Why I'm Hating AT&T

I talked to someone in San Diego today. Another person trained in DSL. I called to verify that the DSL shut-off at our old place went through and that the order for our new place was put in the system. I'm glad I called because the system has still not updated. I am now on the escalation team's list, which should hopefully speed things up. I also found out why things take so long: Regulation. Apparently, even though AT&T could get things worked out in a day, they have to purposefully slow down their system to wait two days so that they are operating at the same speed as their competitor. This is even more ridiculous than the time I canceled my long distance service with them and they charged me a fee because the government said they could charge a fee so they have to charge the fee.

Update: See AT&T DSL Is Back Up!

Hormuz incident caused by prankster?

A lot of people have accused the Bush administration of concocting a false casus belli out of an incident between Iranian speed boats and a naval destroyer earlier this week. The US Navy and the Iranian Navy released conflicting recordings of the events, and confusion has been rife. Now, it is being suggested that the international incident may have been caused by a well-known Persian Gulf prankster broadcasting on military channels.

A heckling radio ham known as the Filipino Monkey, who has spent years pestering ships in the Persian Gulf, is being blamed today for sparking a major diplomatic row after American warships almost attacked Iranian patrol boats.
The US navy came within seconds of firing at the Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz on January 6 after hearing threats that the boats were attacking and were about to explode.

Senior navy officials have admitted that the source of the threats, picked up in international waters, was a mystery.

This falls under the heading of "truth is stranger than fiction" and shows what a knife edge we are walking in the Persian Gulf. Iranian and American diplomats need to work out a method to authenticate transmissions now, before we go to war over some idiot's version of "Is your refrigerator running?"

300K barrels of our Oil Reserve go missing

In an era of volatile oil prices and energy supplies, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a critical tool in ensuring an enemy can not hamstring the USA by impeding oil shipping. As the oil supply is increasingly under threat by unstable governments (Iraq, Iran, etc.), under control of hostile governments (Venezuela, etc.), and under the pressure of rising demand (India, China, etc.), you would think that the Reserve would be under a microscope by policymakers. Apparently, this is not so. A recent audit found over 300,000 barrels of oil were unaccounted for in the government's books.

This is unacceptable and yet more evidence that a coherent Energy Policy is critical for whoever wants to be our next president/

Interesting analysis of "Universal" Health Care

This year, the candidates are talking a lot about Universal Government Health Care. The Democrats are saying that there is no choice but to go to a single-payer Government Health Care. The Republicans are saying that such a plan is sure to doom Americans to sub-par health care and long waiting lists. Both point to systems in Europe to back up their arguments, and it is hard to find any article which does not have a particular axe to grind.

That is why I found this article to be refreshing. Instead of arguing the pros and cons of Universal Health Care, this is a careful analysis of the differences between two different model of "universality." It compares the UK model - with long lines and general dissatisfaction - to the German model - with lots of competition and general satisfaction.

This kind of discussion reminds us that the debate need not be all-or-nothing, and that private health care need not be antithetical to making sure everyone who needs health care, gets it.

New "Get A Mac" Ad

Time Machine is DEFINITELY the best reason to upgrade to MacOS X 10.5!

2007 Darwin Awards Winners

It is that time of year again, the 2007 Darwin Awards are up!

For those who may not remember, the Darwin Awards are an annual award given to those who have managed to remove themselves from the gene pool through spectacularly stupid deaths. Click on thru, and be prepared to both laugh and groan.

Policy vs. The Person

I know that we would all agree that both Policy and a person's personal qualities are important when picking a president. But assuming a candidate meets the minimum requirements for you in each category, which do you think is more important when picking a President, The Person or Policies? Please respond by leaving a comment.

Another way to watch TV online

While I still believe iTunes is the best way to get TV online, a number of competitors are trying to compete with free or low-cost alteratives. Comcast has just released FanCast which has a very nice interface and will allow you to view a number of popular programs for free at home. It is worth a look if you missed any recent episodes of your favorite shows.

Need Help: Why Should I Vote for Mike Huckabee

If there is a Mike Huckabee supporter out there, could you please post either a regular post or something in the comments section on why we should support Mike Huckabee. I would like to have someone who can layout some good reasons other than just "He is a born-again Christian so we should support our brother in Christ." Please post your own reasons, not just a link to an article somewhere else.

How to destroy blogger credibility in one easy step

Ever since the internet began putting out real news which began to drive the network news cycle, there has been an ongoing debate between old style journalists and bloggers over the proper role of blogs in journalism. It has taken over a decade, but by now most technology shows offer press credentials to bloggers, and essentially consider them to be on-par with old school newspeople. It appears that one tech site, Gizmondo, may have managed to undo all of that progress in a single day at CES (Consumer Electonics Show). They brought a TV-B-Gone (device which will turn off any ir-remote enabled TV) to the show, and started turning off all the large LCD and Plasma screens at the show in the middle of people's presentations. Their gloating video of the event shows many, many examples. The people behind CES are understandably furious and have banned the person responsible from all future events, and I would not be surprised to see Gizmondo itself banned.

This kind of thing may have been inevitable and is probably not so much an internet thing, as a result of the fact that CES attracts young reporters (i.e. those who are not yet worldly wise). But it has done serious damage to the image of bloggers in the eyes of the public and presenters, and is likely to make it harder for internet-based journalists in the future. Perhaps it is time for bloggers to get together and form an accreditation council to which one much apply before being designated "a responsible blogger". This accreditation could then be pulled if something like this happens, which would invalidate your invitation to all future events. Accountability is needed, and it is better if bloggers police themselves than to wait and have Congress or CES work out their own system.

Warning for BluRay Buyers

There has been a lot of news lately about Hollywood finally choosing a single format for High Definion (HD) movies, and BluRay has won over HD-DVD. What is NOT being talked about much is the fact that most of the players currently on the market are not set to be compatible with disks to be released even later this year. The Consumerist warns us that unless you are watching your BluRay disks on a Playstation 3, you may be in for a rough wake-up call.

But with the exception of the Playstation 3, current Blu-ray DVD players were built without future-compatibility capabilities, so come this October owners won't be able to take advantage of features like Internet connectivity or enhanced interactivity (whatever that means—details are sketchy). "One key Blu-ray developer told BetaNews that although he builds discs for studios including Fox and Lionsgate, he did not buy a Blu-ray player for personal use."

Buyer beware. Even if the HD wars are over (and I suspect we'll learn from Apple next week that they are not), it is still very easy to get burned in the current market.

Why I'm Hating AT&T

As I've mentioned in the ShoutBox, AT&T has completely messed up my DSL order. At this point, the company's incompetence has reached a level that I feel I need to take it to another level. Hence this blog post and planned letters to the editor in my area newspapers. A brief summary:

A few days before 12/31/2007: I attempt to switch my AT&T service from my current address to my new address. Their website says that they will waive the transfer fee if I use the online tools. I attempt to use their online tools using two different browsers (Firefox and IE for Windows), but the process will not let me get past one step. I call AT&T to transfer service and ask if they will waive the transfer fee since I attempted to use their online tools and they did not work. They agree. We schedule transfer for both DSL and home phone server for 12/31. I am told there will be 2-4 hours of downtime. I let customers and co-workers know that I will be down that day (I work from home) and give them an emergency contact number.

12/29/2007: We move out of the old place and into the new place

12/31/2007 (early AM... possibly midnight): Phone service goes dead. DSL is still active.

12/31/2007 (12:30 PM): Doorbell rings at our new place. It is the service rep to set up the phone line. I ask about DSL. He says checks and says that typically they do DSL on a separate day, but that my order got put in at the same time so that it should be working. He gives me a contact number in case there are problems.

12/31/2007 (later that day): I bring my DSL equipment to our new place only to find out that the DSL is not working. At this point, phone service is at our new place, DSL is at our old place. I call up AT&T and they tell me that DSL service will not be transfered until Friday 1/4/2008. Annoying, but we have the old place until 1/7/2008 so not a huge deal. I bring the DSL equipment back to the old place.

1/2/2008: DSL goes dead at the old place. I assume that things went quicker than they promised and bring the DSL equipment back to the new place. I plug it in - no dice. I call AT&T and they tell me that they have disconnected it at the old place and that it is scheduled to come back up on Friday, 1/4/2008. I explain that I work at home and that this does not work for me. She says that she will try to expedite it and says that it will be late Thursday or early Friday. I am not happy, but figure it is the best I can do. In the process, we realize that the current orders were in to turn it back on at our old place instead of our new place. I explain that it needs to go to our new place and assume that come Friday morning at the latest I will have my DSL service.

1/4/2008 (morning): There is a big storm in the area that knocks out our power. I assume that the DSL should be on (after all, they just have to "flip a switch", right?).

1/4/2008 (afternoon): I head over to our old place to help my wife and mother-in-law clean. While there, UPS shows up with a DSL modem. I'm worried. I should not be getting a DSL modem, especially at my old place. We finish cleaning (my wife and mother-in-law did 99% of the work - you're the best!). The apartment is now completely clean. The only reason for us going back into the apartment is to show it to the apartment manager on 1/7/2008 to get our deposit back.

1/4/2008 (later that afternoon): I come back to our new place, plug in the DSL equipment and get nothing. I call AT&T. They are in the process of turning DSL on at our old place! I explain how this is not acceptable because I work at home and was originally told 2-4 hours of downtime and that we went over the address issue on Wednesday. I explain that I can not set things back up in the apartment because it is clean. They tell me that I will have to wait until Wednesday, 1/9/2008. They offer to put in a note to credit me the DSL setup fee (which I was not aware I would be charged on a *transfer* anyway) as well as one month of phone and DSL service. I am not happy, but I know that the person was doing the best that they personally could, so I continue pressing on. I am told to return the DSL modem at their expense so that I am not charged for it. They are also marking my order "urgent" to try to speed things up. I have since learned that "urgent" on an order must mean either "treat as any other order" or "take extra time with this order".

1/9/2008: Today should be the day! I plug in my DSL equipment. Still nothing. I call AT&T. What are they doing today? They're DISCONNECTING the service from our old place. Because I foolishly decided that I wanted to keep my old phone number since I was just moving across town and didn't want to have to update my phone number everywhere, it takes longer. I am presented with a choice: change my phone number and I can get DSL on 1/14/2008 or keep my phone number and I can get DSL on 1/16/2008. I decide to keep my phone number and they put in a credit (instead of just a note) for the DSL activation fee plus two months of DSL service. I explain that I am not happy, but believe that she has given me the fairest shake that she personally can give me.

1/10/2008: AT&T decides to block me from sending mail through my non-AT&T e-mail servers. I call AT&T to explain to them that I can't wait any longer. I need the DSL on now. I've been down and now they're just kicking me while I'm down by not allowing me to send through my non-AT&T e-mail servers. I talk to a DSL customer care specialist (there are only a few and they're normally busy). He explains to me as other have before that the system takes a few days to catch up with itself. That is, the schedule has gone like this: Issue disconnect order, wait a few days for the system to catch up with itself, issue connect order for wrong address, wait a few days for the system to catch up with itself, issue a disconnect order, wait a few days for the system to catch up with itself, issue a connect order and three to five days later it will be up. This means that the fastest AT&T claims it can transfer DSL service is about one week. If they mess once, it could be as long as two weeks. The system WILL NOT ALLOW THEM to put in my order because it still thinks my DSL is on at our old place... even though it isn't. They assure me that it is a computer problem and not a paperwork problem. The DSL guy says that he will put a task in Outlook and check every few hours for the system to recognize that my service is disconnected. Once it does, he will put in my order to get it kicked off as soon as possible. As soon as possible meaning sometime between Wednesday, 1/16/2008 and Friday 1/18/2008. I explain that I wish to speak with a manager, will be researching cable internet, and will be posting about this, etc. He says that the managers are all in a conference, but that one can give me a call back on Monday, 1/14/2008. To keep me as a loyal customer, he offers to talk to his manager, etc. about giving me a free year of the next highest speed DSL (a $120 value).

1/10/2008 (after the phone call): The same AT&T service rep that installed my phone line shows up. He is here to put in our second line. (We had them transferred on separate days to make sure we had one line working.) He asks about the DSL. I tell him what is up. He agrees with me (and the customer care reps that I have talked to) that AT&T has messed up. He gives me his contact information as well as his manager's contact information. He explains to me that the managers are all in conference due to the previous Friday's storm and that he can not even reach his manager now. He checks to see if the DSL order is in the system, but can not access it yet because of the problem with the system catching up with itself. He says to give him a call when the order goes in and he will see what he can do to expedite it.

1/10/2008 (after the meeting with the service rep): I call AT&T tech support to go over my issue with being able to send e-mail. After talking through 3 or 4 levels of tech support, they say that I should just send it through their servers. This solution, while it technically works, doesn't work for me. Because I control my company's mail server, I am able to make things work.

At this point, I have basically lost 6 business days due to this issue. I figure out of the last 7 business days plus weekends, I have cranked out one or two business days worth of work. AT&T is a perfect example of what happens when a company gets too big and stops caring about its customers.

Note 1: This is not against any of the employees of AT&T. The individual employees of AT&T, while they may have messed up, have appeared to try to do what they can do in their power to make me happy. It appears the system is messed up given the turn-around time. AT&T needs to be able to fix things quickly when it is their fault. It also appears they need better training for their employees. Without mentioning names, the DSL specialist I talked to on 1/10/2008 and the service rep who has set up phone service stand out as going above and beyond their job in an effort to help me out and for that I am very appreciative. In my book (assuming they make things happen like I believe they will), they deserve a bonus or raise.

Note 2: Those connected with AT&T may claim that the 2-4 hour downtime was only supposed to be for the phone line. DSL takes at least 3 days. While this may be true, (1) I was only told 2-4 hours and (2) the phone service alone was down more than 2-4 hours.

Update 1: See AT&T Update

Update 2: See AT&T DSL Is Back Up!

Why I am Not Voting for John McCain

With John McCain’s recent rise in the polls and primary victory in New Hampshire, I have been forced to take a closer look at his candidacy for President. I have never been a supporter of him, but do not hate him either. Let me get the obligatory “He is an honorable man and served his country well both in the military and the government” out of the way. All of this is true, but is not nearly a good enough reason for me to support him for President. The following are the reasons that I have chosen not to support John McCain in the Republican Presidential primary.

The first reason that I am not supporting him for President is the most obvious, his age. Few political pundits are willing to admit it, but this is a major disadvantage in a general election for him. In American politics, we are always looking to elect the “next generation” of leadership. Senator McCain, would be a step towards electing the previous generation. President George W. Bush was born in 1946. Senator McCain was born in 1936. This means that Senator McCain will be 10 years older than the current president on the day that he would take office. Even more striking is that he is 25 years older than Barak Obama, 17 years older than John Edwards and 11 years older than Hillary Clinton.

The second reason that I am not supporting John McCain for president is his position on immigration. McCain has not been a strong supporter of securing our borders. Although the recent immigration bill he tried to pass did include a component of securing the borders, that was not what it came to be know for. It became known for being an “Amnesty Bill”. Whether or not you believe it was amnesty does not matter. McCain was not able to argue effectively to the American people that this bill was the right course of action. What makes us think that as President he will have any more success?

The third reason I am not supporting John McCain is that he has never been a strong proponent of tax cuts and fiscal discipline. McCain did not vote for President Bush’s tax cuts and still says that he would not vote for them. McCain does get some credit for his being against “pork barrel” spending, but this issue also shows McCain’s lack of being able to influence Washington as earmarking is still prevalent in government budgets.

A forth reason I am not supporting John McCain is that he has never been strong pro-life advocate. McCain will argue that he has a pro-life voting record and that may be true, but he has never conveyed that it is an important part of his political life.

The fifth reason that I am not supporting John McCain is his work on campaign finance reform. I believe that if it was up to John McCain we would have total public financing of elections. He has worked to limit the money that individuals and groups can spend in support of an issue or candidate. His famed McCain-Feingold bill is opposed by just about every important voice in the conservative movement as an attack on free speech.

The 6th and final reason that I will give in this article is perhaps the least purely logical reason, but still it is important. I believe that John McCain will “surprise” conservatives with something major that he does if he is elected president. McCain has been too willing to compromise conservative principles in the name of showing bipartisanship or progress for a specific issue. The McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill and the failed immigration bill and are both examples of this trait. Neither bill is based on American conservative philosophies.

I have not made my final decision yet on who I will vote for in the primary, although I am leaning toward a certain candidate. Connecticut votes on February 5th, so I will need to wait and see which candidates make it to that date before making my final decision.

This one is for Shadowmom

...although she would also have coordinated her purse, coffee cup, and earrings. At least.

Kucinich seeks NH recount

In what is sure to be a purely public-relations move, Dennis Kucinich has asked for a recount of the NH democratic primary to "ensure every vote is counted." Why do I say it is pure PR? He admits that he expected it will change nothing.

Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who won less than 2 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, said Thursday he wants a recount to ensure that all ballots in his party's contest were counted. The Ohio congressman cited "serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors" about the integrity of Tuesday results.
Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said Kucinich is entitled to a statewide recount. But, under New Hampshire law, Kucinich will have to pay for it. Scanlan said he had "every confidence" the results are accurate.

In a letter dated Thursday, Kucinich said he does not expect significant changes in his vote total, but wants assurance that "100 percent of the voters had 100 percent of their votes counted."

It would be interesting to see one of the front-runers offer to pay for the recount, as an expression of their confidence in the system. But I really expect to see either (1) they'll ignore this or (2) Ron Paul will offer to use his excess funds to pay for the recount.

"Weekend at Bernies" as street theater

Sometimes crime is a social problem related to poverty, education, or perceived injustice. Sometimes, it is a problem related to stupidity. I saw a local news report about this, and the witness could hardly keep from laughing.

When Virgilio Cintron, 66, died at his apartment recently, his roommate and a friend saw an opportunity to cash his $355 check, the police said.
They did not go about it the easy way, the police said, choosing a ruse that resembled the plot of "Weekend at Bernie's," a film about two young men who prop up their dead employer to pretend that he is alive...The roommate, James P. O'Hare, and his friend, David J. Dalaia, both 65 and unemployed, placed Cintron's body in the chair and wheeled it around the corner Tuesday afternoon, the police said. The men parked the chair with the corpse in front of Pay-O-Matic, a check-cashing business that Cintron had patronized...The two men started to bring the chair inside, but it was too late. Their sidewalk procession had already attracted the stares of passers-by who were startled by the sight of the body flopping from side to side as the two men tried to prop it up, the police said...A police detective eating at a nearby restaurant saw the crowd and notified police. Police officers and an ambulance arrived as the two men were trying to maneuver the corpse and chair into the check-cashing office.

Somehow, I doubt this one is going to be made into another George Clooney, Brad Pitt caper movie. Sigh.

I am SO glad I am not a pollster

Kerry endorses Obama

Not sure how happy Obama will be with this. Is the endorsement of last cycle's big loser really all that valuable? Still, an endorsement is an endorsement when you are in a tough battle. And if it leads other folks to also endorse you (like perhaps VP Al Gore) then it may make a bigger difference.

Then again, if John Kerry is endorsing you, can you really say you are "the candidate of change?"

OLPC skepticism grows

I have been a big fan of the One-Laptop-Per-Child program. I love the idea of empowering third world learning with cheap computing power, and the idea of what kinds of creativity can be unleashed by bringing a rugged computing device to places where the average "computer" previously was an abacus. There were a number of skeptics up-front - mostly those who believed it was useless to give a computer to a child who was uncertain where her next meal was coming from. But that chorus mostly faded away before the excitement of many developing nations about a new way to educate children without having to buy obsolete textbooks.

I bought an OLPC on the Give1Get1 program and received it shortly after the New Year. I have been playing with the device for about a week now, and am starting to have doubts. It is not that it is low-powered - I expected that - but that the OLPC program has forgotten a number of things including easy-to-use documentation and a focus on a bug-free experience. I am finding the machine crashes very easily (it won't even load the Wikipedia article on Fred Thompson without crashing), and the docs that supporting sites are as slow as the machine itself. I am starting to wonder if the skeptics are right. My remaining hope remains in the fact that what I received is essentially a beta and that fixes and updates will be coming quickly.

I am still hopeful, but starting to truly wonder if the long-term legacy of OLPC will not the XO-1, but the many competitors it has forced into the marketplace, like the highly-popular Asus Eeepc.