Supreme Court OKs Strip Searches for Any Reason
In yet another example that the definition of Conservative "small government", the Supreme Court ruled that strip searches are ok for any reason. When it comes to making people think that Conservatives are keeping them safe, it seems government can't get big enough or stomp on enough rights. In the latest ruling, the five Conservative judges once again voted as a block ruling that police can perform strip searches for any reason, including minor traffic offenses. In short, if the police are willing to arrest you and haul you into a jail cell, they can do whatever they want. This doesn't mean you are guilty or they even have evidence. They can simply arrest you, strip search you, decide it was a mistake and release you. Your dignity may not remain intact but hey at least your will feel "safe" from whatever new thing they want you to fear. The justification for the decision was based on Tim McVey (Oklahoma City bombing) being arrested for a minor traffic offense and not getting stripped search. Without explaining how, the Conservative ruling failed to explain how a strip search would have led to the discovering of his car bomb. I guess they figured he kept the car jammed up his rear? This is ironic considering the Five will overturn the Health Care act in June on claims it stomps rights to purchase what you want (never mind states requiring car insurance, home insurance, etc.). To sum it up, to the Conservative Court your body has no rights but you do have the right to not buy stuff you don't want but need. Once again Conservative hypocrisy in action.
Wiretapping for Profit
While they claim to the contrary, the telecoms probably make a pretty decent profit listening in on our calls at the government's request. T-Mobile charges law enforcement (aka tax papers) $500 per month per target. Sprint charges $400 per "market area" and "technology" with a $10 per day fee. No idea what those "per" mean. For AT&T its $325 activation fee, $5 per day for data and $10 for audio. Verizon charges $50 fee and $700 per month per target. The fees pile on after that depending on what others things law enforcement want for targets of wiretaps. Listening in is good for business.
Showing posts with label Rachel Maddow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rachel Maddow. Show all posts
Friday, April 06, 2012
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Links of the Week
Rachel Maddow Lecture at Harvard
Mrs. Maddow gave an interesting lecture and Q&A at Harvard that focuses on the relationship between politics and the 24 hour news cycle. She makes a few excellent points, the primary one being that the act of leading and governing has no longer become the job of elected officials. Their prime job now has been to always speak to the news sound bite and not take the risk of doing the strange thing of actually making laws (aka follow the John McCain school of "governance"). It really is worth listening too as even the far right agrees the press do not really do their jobs anymore.
Reporting - Publicity = News
Seems like a simple question but if you really look at how the news works nowadays, it is truly amazing how much time and effort they spend talking about and regurgitating press releases and press conferences while making no effort to separate the truth from the misinformation nor how what was said doesn't match with what has actually been done. The example in this case is Republicans saying they will cut spending. They say that a lot, have for decades. Yet they have never actually cut spending but increased it, by a lot. By more than any Democrat administration ever has. They say "cut spending!" but their actions say "more spending" as they fight to add $700 billion to the deficit with more tax cuts for the rich. They say tax cuts will fix everything, but 10 years of tax cuts show that isn't true. Repeating their words is easy, analyzing and showing how their words don't match their actions nor history, that is news and that is reporters doing something strange - their jobs of reporting facts.
Mrs. Maddow gave an interesting lecture and Q&A at Harvard that focuses on the relationship between politics and the 24 hour news cycle. She makes a few excellent points, the primary one being that the act of leading and governing has no longer become the job of elected officials. Their prime job now has been to always speak to the news sound bite and not take the risk of doing the strange thing of actually making laws (aka follow the John McCain school of "governance"). It really is worth listening too as even the far right agrees the press do not really do their jobs anymore.
Reporting - Publicity = News
Seems like a simple question but if you really look at how the news works nowadays, it is truly amazing how much time and effort they spend talking about and regurgitating press releases and press conferences while making no effort to separate the truth from the misinformation nor how what was said doesn't match with what has actually been done. The example in this case is Republicans saying they will cut spending. They say that a lot, have for decades. Yet they have never actually cut spending but increased it, by a lot. By more than any Democrat administration ever has. They say "cut spending!" but their actions say "more spending" as they fight to add $700 billion to the deficit with more tax cuts for the rich. They say tax cuts will fix everything, but 10 years of tax cuts show that isn't true. Repeating their words is easy, analyzing and showing how their words don't match their actions nor history, that is news and that is reporters doing something strange - their jobs of reporting facts.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Links of the Week
Lego London Tower BridgeThe pic is an upcoming piece from Lego that when completed has 80 windows, 40'' long, 17'' high with mini Lego vehicles, working drawbridge, tan bricks, arches, and more. The 4,287 piece structure should be hitting Lego online and Lego stores soon. No details on costs but guessing a few hundred.
Weird Science vs. Real Genius Geek-Off
It has been 25 years since these two classics came out and Moviefone decided to determine which is the superior movie based on the good guys, bad guys, "future stars", the ladies, science, geek factor and quotability. Hit the link to see if you agree with their analysis that Real Genius is the better geek film.
Republicans for Rich Only
In one of the things that baffles me, the GOP continues to get support from the middle class and the poor despite the fact that the party policy comes down to a collective "f%^k you". The party talks to them a lot but if every really look at their record they have done nothing for a majority of Americans in decades now. Sure they talk a good game about tax cuts but the only ones that have ever seen any real tax cuts is the rich. If you make over $250k a year, the GOP is your best friend. If you don't, you really have no reason to support them from a financial and economic standpoint. Another example of this is going on now. The states are essentially going bankrupt. All 50 of them. Police officers, firefighters, teachers and more are getting laid off (which is bad for the economy). Odd little cuts are being made like unpaving roads, cutting off lampposts, and more in a bid to shave money off the budget. This isn't "wasteful" spending being cut now but essentials that are needed for safety. So what does the GOP do? They say no. Their "solution" yet again. Make permanent the Bush tax cuts despite the fact they will ADD $700 billion to the deficit and did NOT help the economy in the previous 10 years. Basically their solution is "hey it didn't work for 10 years, let’s try it for another 10 just to make sure!" and people are buying it. It truly boggles my mind that people just cannot see something that simple and reject it as stupid and not working.
California Gay Marriage Ban Lifted
The Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled earlier this week that the California law banning marriage was un-Constitutional and has now ruled that marriage can resume on August 15th. It is a major victory for gay rights movement and a major defeat for the mostly conservative contingent that has been working hard for years to codify a country wide ban. Ironic considering the conservative "movement" has been making talking about how the Constitution has been circumvented by Obama (while unable to provide specific examples and supporting the Bush's patriot act), that the country is going fascist (while supporting an actual fascist immigration "show your papers" law) and claiming love for the Constitution (while trying to overturn the 14 and 17th amendments. Its real simple, if you love the Constitution, you have to support equal rights. If you support equal rights you have to support gay marriage. You can't really have it both ways regardless of the mental gymnastics used to attempt to justify it. But if there is a real constant in politics, it’s that a conservative is by definition a hypocrite.
Harry Potter 7 Split Revealed
The final story of Harry Potter is being split into two films. Part 1 this Christmas and Part 2 next Summer. The point the movies will break has finally been revealed by Entertainment Weekly in this week's magazine article about the movie. It seems it will occur around Chapter 24 (out of 36) when Voldemort captures the Elder Wand. This leaves the Gringotts break-in and Battle of Hogwarts as the main pieces of Part 2.
He Who Yells Loudest Is Still Stupid
Knowing they have no plans beyond stop taxing the rich, the GOP keeps bouncing from scare tactic to tactic to get the ignorant to vote for them. Their entire 2010 campaign comes down to "be scared of stuff, vote for me and I will cut rich people's taxes to protect you!" The new meme is "terror babies" or "anchor babies". The idea is people are having babies here so that 20 years from now they will attack the United States. In a bizarre interview with Rep. Louie Gohmert basically yells his way through the interview on the idea that yelling really loud means he is right. Asked for evidence of his assertion he can provide none yet mentions it must be true cause of an airplane conversation. It is the usual GOP nonsense of lying but making it seem true with repetition and yelling a lot. After 10 years of this you would think people would stop falling for it. Sadly no. Hit the link to watch the rather insane exchange. The GOP, "we hate everyone but the rich...vote for us."
Friday, June 18, 2010
Links of the Week
Looney Tunes Cast RevealedBugs Bunny is returning to the airwaves soon via the Cartoon Network but with a new look and new (mostly female) cast members. The cast has been de-aged to around early teens. I just miss the old cartoons which were pulled off the airwaves by the Network once they locked up exclusive rights to them and decided they were not worth airing.
Gigantic Lego Imperial ShuttleLego continues its huge scale Star Wars sets with the 2503 piece set that will hit retail in September for $260. Once assembled, the craft will be 28'' tall and 22'' wide. It will include five minifigs with Darth Vader, Shuttle Pilot, Imperial Officer, Stormtrooper and Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker. Sadly this set is outside my wallet range.
Monster Lego Chess Set
Below is a video that shows off a massive, motor controlled chess board that was built with 100,000 Legos and $30,000. The game is controlled by computer that can also reset itself. More info on it at Team Hassen Plug.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Links of the Day
Google Pac-Man Cost $120 Million
Apparently the Google Pac-Man playable logo was enough of a hit that it is estimated that it cost $120 million in lost productivity. This is based on half a billion hits the site experienced on May 23rd and around 5 million hours of time at an estimated cost of $25 per hour (which seems high to me). The game itself remains available here.
Apple Officially the Goliath
Way back in 1984, Apple cultivated this image of the underdog company always trying to beat the big meanies of Microsoft, Dell, and other computer companies. Ever since then Apple fans have used this false view to defend pretty much anything the company does as the acts of a smaller company just trying to survive. As of Tuesday, Apple's market value is now greater than Microsoft, which to mean needs to forever kill its underdog status. It is now the Goliath it once railed against. See its iPhone and iPad policies for proof of how it wields its strength. I wish this would put an end to the excuse making from the Apple fan boys, but not holding my breath.
Alice to Cross $1 Billion
In unexpected box office news, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is expected to cross the $1 billion threshold by the end of the weekend. This is largely based on its foreign sales of $667 million but the $332M from the US didn't hurt. The movie becomes only the sixth to cross that threshold, joining Avatar, Titanic, Return of the King, Dead Man's Chest and The Dark Knight. The movie was released in March, becoming the first non-summer, non-holiday movie to cross the mark and possibly proving that not only can movies succeed when released outside of the usual crowded summer window but also thrive. I also think it proves that the US consumer is going to lose power in deciding what a success or failure is as the foreign sales continue to makes up a huge chunk of the gross for many movie releases. Now if only TV would take into consideration the overseas success of its programs when deciding what to keep or cancel.
Generic = Name Brand Drugs
Click the link to view a nice chart that breaks down why it’s silly to pay more for name brand drugs when the generic does the exact same thing. The reason? Thanks to "evil" regulation, generic drugs are required to be identical in dosage, safety, strength, quality and performance as its name brand counterpart. Basically it’s the same everything in less flashy packaging or expensive advertising campaigns at half the cost.
1979 vs. 2010 Oil Spill
Rachel Maddow broke out the way back machine last night to show off how little technology has changed in 30 years when it comes to dealing with ocean based oil leaks. The names change, such as "The Sombrero" becoming the "Top Hat" method but other than that, not a thing. For all the talk of "advancement" from BP and its defenders, it’s pretty clear the only tech applied to drilling is how to get more oil for less money, not preparing, preventing, or planning for when disaster strikes.
Apparently the Google Pac-Man playable logo was enough of a hit that it is estimated that it cost $120 million in lost productivity. This is based on half a billion hits the site experienced on May 23rd and around 5 million hours of time at an estimated cost of $25 per hour (which seems high to me). The game itself remains available here.
Apple Officially the Goliath
Way back in 1984, Apple cultivated this image of the underdog company always trying to beat the big meanies of Microsoft, Dell, and other computer companies. Ever since then Apple fans have used this false view to defend pretty much anything the company does as the acts of a smaller company just trying to survive. As of Tuesday, Apple's market value is now greater than Microsoft, which to mean needs to forever kill its underdog status. It is now the Goliath it once railed against. See its iPhone and iPad policies for proof of how it wields its strength. I wish this would put an end to the excuse making from the Apple fan boys, but not holding my breath.
Alice to Cross $1 Billion
In unexpected box office news, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is expected to cross the $1 billion threshold by the end of the weekend. This is largely based on its foreign sales of $667 million but the $332M from the US didn't hurt. The movie becomes only the sixth to cross that threshold, joining Avatar, Titanic, Return of the King, Dead Man's Chest and The Dark Knight. The movie was released in March, becoming the first non-summer, non-holiday movie to cross the mark and possibly proving that not only can movies succeed when released outside of the usual crowded summer window but also thrive. I also think it proves that the US consumer is going to lose power in deciding what a success or failure is as the foreign sales continue to makes up a huge chunk of the gross for many movie releases. Now if only TV would take into consideration the overseas success of its programs when deciding what to keep or cancel.
Generic = Name Brand Drugs
Click the link to view a nice chart that breaks down why it’s silly to pay more for name brand drugs when the generic does the exact same thing. The reason? Thanks to "evil" regulation, generic drugs are required to be identical in dosage, safety, strength, quality and performance as its name brand counterpart. Basically it’s the same everything in less flashy packaging or expensive advertising campaigns at half the cost.
1979 vs. 2010 Oil Spill
Rachel Maddow broke out the way back machine last night to show off how little technology has changed in 30 years when it comes to dealing with ocean based oil leaks. The names change, such as "The Sombrero" becoming the "Top Hat" method but other than that, not a thing. For all the talk of "advancement" from BP and its defenders, it’s pretty clear the only tech applied to drilling is how to get more oil for less money, not preparing, preventing, or planning for when disaster strikes.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Links of the Day
Final Fantasy XIII NBA Commercial
New commercial for the game coming next month to the States that frankly does nothing to make me want to buy the game if I wasn't already a diehard FF fan. Rather odd considering they helped sponsor the NBA All Star Weekend. Too much flash, not enough game I guess.
Final Fantasy I & II for iPhone Trailer
Click the link to view yet another remake of the classic NES games in a new format with improved graphics, touch interface and other tweaks. I have probably beat both games several times (NES, PSP, PS) yet I get a sad feeling I will be doing it yet again.
Rubik's Cube Turns 30
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Rubik's Cube. This makes me feel old. According to the PopCandy, 350 million Cubes have been sold worldwide; World Championship "speed cubing" is held every year and the world record for solving a cube is 7.08 seconds. Below is a video of a Lego "Cubestorm" device a fan made that does an excellent job of solving a random cube.
Rachel Maddow on Filibuster Abuse
Remember "way" back in 2005 when Republicans considering getting rid of the filibuster because Democrats abused it 54 times? They claimed they should support the President in a time of war and give an up and down votes on laws. This led to things like "Gang of 14", the "Nuclear Option" and more. It was a big deal, took of days of news cycle. Cut to five years later. The Republicans have now already used the Filibuster 112 times. Nope not a typo. So five years ago, "abusing" it is anti-American. Using it now is perfectly American even when it done to block Presidential appointments (simply because the president wants them, not because opposed to the choices). I keep saying it but bears repeating...show me a Republican and you have shown me a hypocrite. Any case, the video below Maddow breaks it down to explain how the new level of abuse if causing problems. Even more amazing is there is a reasonable plan from Democrats vs. the outright ban that Republicans advocated 5 years ago.
New commercial for the game coming next month to the States that frankly does nothing to make me want to buy the game if I wasn't already a diehard FF fan. Rather odd considering they helped sponsor the NBA All Star Weekend. Too much flash, not enough game I guess.
Final Fantasy I & II for iPhone Trailer
Click the link to view yet another remake of the classic NES games in a new format with improved graphics, touch interface and other tweaks. I have probably beat both games several times (NES, PSP, PS) yet I get a sad feeling I will be doing it yet again.
Rubik's Cube Turns 30
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Rubik's Cube. This makes me feel old. According to the PopCandy, 350 million Cubes have been sold worldwide; World Championship "speed cubing" is held every year and the world record for solving a cube is 7.08 seconds. Below is a video of a Lego "Cubestorm" device a fan made that does an excellent job of solving a random cube.
Rachel Maddow on Filibuster Abuse
Remember "way" back in 2005 when Republicans considering getting rid of the filibuster because Democrats abused it 54 times? They claimed they should support the President in a time of war and give an up and down votes on laws. This led to things like "Gang of 14", the "Nuclear Option" and more. It was a big deal, took of days of news cycle. Cut to five years later. The Republicans have now already used the Filibuster 112 times. Nope not a typo. So five years ago, "abusing" it is anti-American. Using it now is perfectly American even when it done to block Presidential appointments (simply because the president wants them, not because opposed to the choices). I keep saying it but bears repeating...show me a Republican and you have shown me a hypocrite. Any case, the video below Maddow breaks it down to explain how the new level of abuse if causing problems. Even more amazing is there is a reasonable plan from Democrats vs. the outright ban that Republicans advocated 5 years ago.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Links of the Day
Last Minute Rescue - Cool video below that shows a guy in Argentina preventing a collision between a commuter train and a stalled van by bare inches. The train had slowed enough that a hit would probably not have killed anyone; it did prevent a lot of injuries as the train has a full load.
MTV Drops "Music Television" - For years now MTV has had almost nothing to do with music beyond late night videos and the occasional show. Recognizing that, the network finally decided to clear up that bit of false advertising by dropping the "Music Television" lettering from their logo. At this point not sure what the M could stand for, best guess is multimedia.
Behind the Scenes of 1983 HBO Intro - A brief walk down memory lane at how the intro clip that introduced each movie that aired in the 80s was made. I remember seeing that bit more times than I can count and it did bring back a few memories of sitting at my old home, eating cereal while watching films like Flight of the Navigator and more. Even more interesting to me is how much time and effort went into making the clip which could be now done with some guy in front of his Dell in about half a day. Makes you wonder what other little gems people might have on their old VHS tapes.
Global Warming Isn't the Opposite of Snow - Rachel Maddow has a little fun with Fox News current meme of saying that snow means global warming doesn't exist. Knowing their audience is essentially full of unquestioning idiots; Fox likes to emphasis the weather over the climate aspect of the "debate". As Maddow points out, snow doesn't disprove the theory anymore then the existence of flying animals doesn't disprove gravity. Bill Nye also weighs in the debate, clearly angry at the rampant disinformation that Fox is giving out.
MTV Drops "Music Television" - For years now MTV has had almost nothing to do with music beyond late night videos and the occasional show. Recognizing that, the network finally decided to clear up that bit of false advertising by dropping the "Music Television" lettering from their logo. At this point not sure what the M could stand for, best guess is multimedia.
Behind the Scenes of 1983 HBO Intro - A brief walk down memory lane at how the intro clip that introduced each movie that aired in the 80s was made. I remember seeing that bit more times than I can count and it did bring back a few memories of sitting at my old home, eating cereal while watching films like Flight of the Navigator and more. Even more interesting to me is how much time and effort went into making the clip which could be now done with some guy in front of his Dell in about half a day. Makes you wonder what other little gems people might have on their old VHS tapes.
Global Warming Isn't the Opposite of Snow - Rachel Maddow has a little fun with Fox News current meme of saying that snow means global warming doesn't exist. Knowing their audience is essentially full of unquestioning idiots; Fox likes to emphasis the weather over the climate aspect of the "debate". As Maddow points out, snow doesn't disprove the theory anymore then the existence of flying animals doesn't disprove gravity. Bill Nye also weighs in the debate, clearly angry at the rampant disinformation that Fox is giving out.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Links of the Day
Better Off Ted Outtakes (NSFW) - Amusing click of outtakes from Wednesday's episode as the gang improv insults to each other, many of which are not broadcast (nor child) safe due to language.
Official A-Team Trailer - Fox has released the movie's trailer, now in HD so looks better then did last week. The movie has the feel of the TV series (good) but still not sold.
Rep. Alan Grayson on Republicans' "The Exception" - The 8th district representative from Florida rips Republicans a new one for their tendency to forget recent history. The economy is Obama's fault, there was never a terrorist attack under Bush (forgetting 9/11, shoe bomber, and more), and so forth. As he puts it, "...the birth of a new form of political discourse from the right wing in this country: The Exception. The Exceptional Exception -- the exception that proves the rule or disproves the rule..." What is really sad is most American's are so stupid that since they too have forgotten recent history they tend to eat it up.
Maddow on McCain, Palin Pick - On her show yesterday, the host tore That Whore McCain a new one for essentially introducing the mind numbing constant stupidity and perpetually state of victimhood that is Sarah Palin. As she points out, the choice was clearly made not thinking about what was best for this country (who could become President if the current dies), but what he thought would simply get him into office. He essentially Googled her, saw she was pretty and her views was the same as "The Base" that he had failed to get the support of. The problem is Google doesn't show level of stupidity or at least complete and total lack of curiosity. As keeps being demonstrated over and over, Palin simply doesn't care to know things. Fine for most, knowledge of stuff not really needed day to day, but when your goal is higher office and those decisions have the potential to effect millions, shouldn't basic knowledge of history, how government works, current events and more are a basic requirement? It is like trying to hire a tax preparer and not particularly caring if he can do basic arithmetic. To "The Base", that is just elitism, to the rest of us that is called being prepared. That Whore McCain's worst crime is now her brand of stupidity will be on Fox News for years to come.
Official A-Team Trailer - Fox has released the movie's trailer, now in HD so looks better then did last week. The movie has the feel of the TV series (good) but still not sold.
Rep. Alan Grayson on Republicans' "The Exception" - The 8th district representative from Florida rips Republicans a new one for their tendency to forget recent history. The economy is Obama's fault, there was never a terrorist attack under Bush (forgetting 9/11, shoe bomber, and more), and so forth. As he puts it, "...the birth of a new form of political discourse from the right wing in this country: The Exception. The Exceptional Exception -- the exception that proves the rule or disproves the rule..." What is really sad is most American's are so stupid that since they too have forgotten recent history they tend to eat it up.
Maddow on McCain, Palin Pick - On her show yesterday, the host tore That Whore McCain a new one for essentially introducing the mind numbing constant stupidity and perpetually state of victimhood that is Sarah Palin. As she points out, the choice was clearly made not thinking about what was best for this country (who could become President if the current dies), but what he thought would simply get him into office. He essentially Googled her, saw she was pretty and her views was the same as "The Base" that he had failed to get the support of. The problem is Google doesn't show level of stupidity or at least complete and total lack of curiosity. As keeps being demonstrated over and over, Palin simply doesn't care to know things. Fine for most, knowledge of stuff not really needed day to day, but when your goal is higher office and those decisions have the potential to effect millions, shouldn't basic knowledge of history, how government works, current events and more are a basic requirement? It is like trying to hire a tax preparer and not particularly caring if he can do basic arithmetic. To "The Base", that is just elitism, to the rest of us that is called being prepared. That Whore McCain's worst crime is now her brand of stupidity will be on Fox News for years to come.
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