I'm thinking of starting a new series. It's called GOP Inflammatory Statement of the Week. It doesn't make a sweet acronym, but you get the idea.
Today I woke to stories on the late-night passing of a health care bill from the House. Good job ladies and gents! Of course, Republican's would disagree with my praise. This is my favorite one, as reported by CNN. It's by House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio in a statement issued after the vote (because his comments as he exited were that of a 5 year old losing at Candy Land)This is in the statement after some snarkyness about the $1.2 trillion cost of the health care reform inflating our already "skyrocketing" debt.
I think you know where I'm going with this. We've been hearing it a bit from the free-thinking, Fox News hating, non-zombies: Are you #*$%ing kidding me!? According to CostOfWar.com (who, unlike Fox News, site their sources) we will breach the $700 Trillion mark today (of all days) for the cost of the Iraq war. This bill is a tear in the bucket of our national debt!
Beyond that, how is insuring that my brother (a small business owner in Upstate New York) will be able to insure his future children snatching the American Dream from the grasping hands of Boehner's kids? All of my friends in the arts who choose not to go to the Dr because they can't afford to pay for it out of pocket; the option for them to have good health care threatens this man's sensibilities? Would he just rather they enlist instead?
I often wonder if these guys are pathological liars or if they've just gotten so good at spinning that they believe their own bullshit. They would probably say that I don't have my facts straight. I would say they don't have their heads on straight.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
No more wallets?
Wave of the future, or a pipe dream?
From today's NY Times:
PayPal imagines a future in which cash is obsolete, as are wallets. We will buy movie tickets by touching a movie poster on the street and order drinks from a touchscreen embedded in the bar.
From today's NY Times:
PayPal imagines a future in which cash is obsolete, as are wallets. We will buy movie tickets by touching a movie poster on the street and order drinks from a touchscreen embedded in the bar.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Roast 'em Mr. Stewart
I remember when I was in High School and The Daily Show was a fake news show... as in they made up news....
Ahh, nastalgia. But I can tell you this: I LOVE it when Jon Stewart roasts a moron (or group of morons) and calls them on their bull shit. Like this:
Thank you Jon Stewart.
Ahh, nastalgia. But I can tell you this: I LOVE it when Jon Stewart roasts a moron (or group of morons) and calls them on their bull shit. Like this:
Thank you Jon Stewart.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Grab a Coke!
If you're ever with me at a restaurant you'll hear a very specific question from me: "Do you have Pepsi or Coke?" Some servers get it and others look at me as if I asked them to eat my brain with a nice cream sauce. What's the big deal? Coke tastes better.
Today Coke gave me another reason to prefer them to that "other" cola: They've signed with Plug Power to begin using Hydrogen Fuel Cell fork lifts in early 2010.
To pull directly from their press release:
"With these fuel cell materials handling units, we will be able to maintain productivity, decrease operating costs and lower greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent," said Coca-Cola Consolidated spokesman Lauren C. Steele. "We assessed many different technologies for our materials handling fleet and believe the Plug Power fuel cell units give us the best overall solution."
Good job, Coke. We appreciate this sort of thing.
(Full disclosure - my dad works for Plug Power and I have stock... but the reason I have stock is the same reason I blog about them. Because they're a green technology and they're trying to save the world.)
Today Coke gave me another reason to prefer them to that "other" cola: They've signed with Plug Power to begin using Hydrogen Fuel Cell fork lifts in early 2010.
To pull directly from their press release:
"With these fuel cell materials handling units, we will be able to maintain productivity, decrease operating costs and lower greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent," said Coca-Cola Consolidated spokesman Lauren C. Steele. "We assessed many different technologies for our materials handling fleet and believe the Plug Power fuel cell units give us the best overall solution."
Good job, Coke. We appreciate this sort of thing.
(Full disclosure - my dad works for Plug Power and I have stock... but the reason I have stock is the same reason I blog about them. Because they're a green technology and they're trying to save the world.)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Net Neutrality Meltdown
I know I haven't posted in a long time.
However, as soon as I started reading this article my fingers started itching to hit the keys.
According to an article in The Hill, on Monday a batch of GOP Senators proposed an amendment to a bill aimed at preventing the FCC from passing rules to govern the enforcement of Net Neutrality.
OK, so why should you care? If you're asking that question perhaps you'd like some more information on the phrase "Net Neutrality".
Net Neutrality is a principle. An ideal. It's the idea that we should all be able to access the internet equally, and that we should be able to choose what information we access without it being faster or slower than any other information.
Again, why should you care? Imagine that the company you pay for your high-speed internet gets to control what portion of that speed is dedicated to depending on what website you're trying to browse. What if they can prioritize the advertising so it downloads faster and then your connection slows so you have to look at it longer?
What if your precious Facebook didn't pay as much as Twitter so they get bumped to normal speed. You get frustrated and decide to get your social networking buzz elsewhere. Do you like downloading music or movies illegally? (not my bag, but whatever if it's yours) They can shut down your file-sharing in the flick of a pen if they're legally allowed to control what the band width YOU PAY FOR is allowed to do.
My favorite part of this whole article was the argument by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican Senator from Texas... big surprise there):
"I am deeply concerned by the direction the FCC appears to be heading," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tx.), the amendment's chief sponsor. "We must tread lightly when it comes to new regulations. The case has simply not been made for what amounts to a significant regulatory intervention into a vibrant marketplace. These new regulatory mandates and restrictions could stifle investment incentives." (from the article in The Hill)
Really!? You think that by keeping the ISPs honest we're going to stifle the creative, open, wonderful, orgainc thing that is the internet!? Because allowing them to restrict it is going to do WONDERS for our advancement!
Moron...
However, as soon as I started reading this article my fingers started itching to hit the keys.
According to an article in The Hill, on Monday a batch of GOP Senators proposed an amendment to a bill aimed at preventing the FCC from passing rules to govern the enforcement of Net Neutrality.
OK, so why should you care? If you're asking that question perhaps you'd like some more information on the phrase "Net Neutrality".
Net Neutrality is a principle. An ideal. It's the idea that we should all be able to access the internet equally, and that we should be able to choose what information we access without it being faster or slower than any other information.
Again, why should you care? Imagine that the company you pay for your high-speed internet gets to control what portion of that speed is dedicated to depending on what website you're trying to browse. What if they can prioritize the advertising so it downloads faster and then your connection slows so you have to look at it longer?
What if your precious Facebook didn't pay as much as Twitter so they get bumped to normal speed. You get frustrated and decide to get your social networking buzz elsewhere. Do you like downloading music or movies illegally? (not my bag, but whatever if it's yours) They can shut down your file-sharing in the flick of a pen if they're legally allowed to control what the band width YOU PAY FOR is allowed to do.
My favorite part of this whole article was the argument by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican Senator from Texas... big surprise there):
"I am deeply concerned by the direction the FCC appears to be heading," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tx.), the amendment's chief sponsor. "We must tread lightly when it comes to new regulations. The case has simply not been made for what amounts to a significant regulatory intervention into a vibrant marketplace. These new regulatory mandates and restrictions could stifle investment incentives." (from the article in The Hill)
Really!? You think that by keeping the ISPs honest we're going to stifle the creative, open, wonderful, orgainc thing that is the internet!? Because allowing them to restrict it is going to do WONDERS for our advancement!
Moron...
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Whoa There Wal-Mart!
Those who have read this blog for any amount of time know how I feel about Wal-Mart. Just in case you dont, here's an old post to refresh your memory.
So you can imagine my mild horror upon reading this headline:
While I appreciate their professed desire to provide a valuable service at a low cost the medical care provider, what guarantees do I have that my medical information isn't accessible to those in the Walmart/Sam's higherarchy? Would I as a consumer even know that my MD is using this software? According to this article, the retail giant-in-the-playground would be providing support for the software...would they be connected to the database?
I wholeheartedly agree that this type of technology is helpful and in some cases necessary. About 2 years ago I switched to a medical provider who (fortunately for me) is all electronic with their records and it's been amazingly helpful for treatment when I bounce from one specialist to another - but do I really want the same company that treats their workers and women like crap having access to the results of my anual PAP? I sure as hell think not!
So you can imagine my mild horror upon reading this headline:
Wal-Mart Plans to Market Digital Health Records System
I think even those who shop at Wal-Mart would agree that the discount-store/price-cutting-giant/basic-human-rights-obliterator/propaganda-machine perhaps shouldn't be trusted with some of our most sensitive personal information?While I appreciate their professed desire to provide a valuable service at a low cost the medical care provider, what guarantees do I have that my medical information isn't accessible to those in the Walmart/Sam's higherarchy? Would I as a consumer even know that my MD is using this software? According to this article, the retail giant-in-the-playground would be providing support for the software...would they be connected to the database?
I wholeheartedly agree that this type of technology is helpful and in some cases necessary. About 2 years ago I switched to a medical provider who (fortunately for me) is all electronic with their records and it's been amazingly helpful for treatment when I bounce from one specialist to another - but do I really want the same company that treats their workers and women like crap having access to the results of my anual PAP? I sure as hell think not!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Girl Adresses UN
This woman is swiftly becoming my hero. The speech below is old news - it's from 1992 - but when I heard it I thought it was recent. Still, she's awesome...Severn Cullis-Suzuki:
TMZ = Legit Lournalism? I'm so confused...
So by now everyone's heard of the Northern Trust and their whole hot mess of stupidity and excess; but I have only heard in a few places knowledge of where the story originally broke - and to me it's kinda the best part. Maybe I'm disappointing you by sharing this knowledge, but I read TMZ. Not a lot, just enough.
Well, who'd ever expect legit journalism from people who specialize in the movements of BrAngelina? Honestly, not I - but I have to admit that I'm impressed.
Best of all? The story they broke this morning about Northern Trust giving $1.6 Billion back to the government. I feel bad for the people who either invested in this bank or have other money tied up with them - I doubt they know the kind of jerks they were putting their faith in... but still.
Well, who'd ever expect legit journalism from people who specialize in the movements of BrAngelina? Honestly, not I - but I have to admit that I'm impressed.
Best of all? The story they broke this morning about Northern Trust giving $1.6 Billion back to the government. I feel bad for the people who either invested in this bank or have other money tied up with them - I doubt they know the kind of jerks they were putting their faith in... but still.
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