Reasonable Person for President.

Wow...

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Senate Report - Over 400 Scientists Dispute Man-Made Global Warming

Slowly, the truth is coming out...

.: U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works :: Minority Page :. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

What Are the Laws of Nature?

Universe - Laws of Nature - Physics - New York Times

I tend to think the laws of nature are not laws at are, they don't govern or control nature, they just describe it, and predict it.

Please that think the laws of nature actually control the universe are just substituting "Science" in place of "God".

But if you believe God created a structured, consistent, rational universe, then using the tools of science to learn about the universe is both fun and profitable. And it in no way conflicts with Religion. Just because the universe is rational and natural, doesn't mean there isn't anything "supernatural". It just means science can't be used to study or describe or even detect anything supernatural.

Science, by its nature, ASSUMES there is no supernatural forces or events in the universe. So Science cannot be used to prove or disprove God. But many people think it can.

and here is the original op-ed ... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith

This is not very deep, but interesting and informative none the less...

As I understand it from reading on "BeliefNet" Mormons accept the entire new testament and add their "book of Mormon". The two taken together lead to a slightly (but significant) different understanding of God and Jesus and salvation. They pretty much reject any Catholic and Protestants teaching and interpretation of the New Testament, but not the New Testament itself (at least not the Gospels)

This is understandable. The Bible gives us a set of "dots" and we connect them to form a understanding of God and everything. The Book of Mormon adds more "dots" so it is understandable that the Mormons connected them differently and get a different overall "picture".

I don't know anything about the Book of Mormon so I can't say if their "dots" are right or wrong or agree with or even contradict the "dots" given in the Bible. I think Mormons accept ALL the Bible, but maybe they don't accept certain books or use different translations, but they at least see no contradiction between the two. Which says something.

FOXNews.com - 21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News [This Post Continues after the jump...]

John McCain in the Home Stretch - The Glenn and Helen Show

If you're into PODcasts, this is great....

Instapundit.com - The Glenn and Helen Show: John McCain in the Home Stretch [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Lieberman to endorse McCain

Lieberman to endorse McCain - John McCain News- msnbc.com

Now this IS interesting.... I wonder how a McCain/Liberman ticket would go over....

I think it would be great, assuming the two of them get along and have enough in common to be a team. But talk about an administration that could unite the country...

I don't see how the Democrats could field anything that would compete with this. Of course Liberman would have to "sell his soul" to run on a Republican ticket and I'm not sure anyone would be willing to do that.

But what if McCain does well in the primaries, but doesn't win. Depending on who wins on both the Republicans and Democrat sides, an independent McCain/Lieberman ticket (or even Lieberman/McCain) would be possible.

Talk about shaking things up!!

Of course, I'm probably interested just because it would shake things up... Like Perot, there was no way I really wanted him to win or even come close, but it was great to see the shake up.... but this is different, this is possible.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

The REAL reason for the Shuttle Launch Delay

The REAL reason for the Shuttle Launch Delay... Monster Spiders!!

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Global-Warming Model May Be Wrong

Say it ain't so Joe....err... Al...

FOXNews.com - Study: Part of Global-Warming Model May Be Wrong - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Pope condemns climate change prophets

interesting...

The Pope condemns the climate change prophets of doom | the Daily Mail [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Huckabee's Glass Jaw

DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2007®


DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION
Tue Dec 11 2007 10:27:53 ET



**Exclusive**

Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, insiders reveal.

The Democratic National Committee has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination.

The directive has come down from the highest levels within the party, according to a top source.

Within the DNC, Huckabee is known as the "glass jaw -- and they're just waiting to break it."

In the last three weeks since Huckabee's surge kicked in, the DNC hasn't released a single press release criticizing his rising candidacy.

The last DNC press release critical of Huckabee appeared back on March 2nd.

[DNC Press Release Attack Summary:

Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) – 37% (99 press releases)
Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) – 28% (74)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) – 24% (64)
Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) – 8% (20)
Governor Mike Huckabee – 2% (4)]

In fact, as the story broke over the weekend that Huckabee said he wanted to isolate AIDS patients back in 1992, the DNC ignored the opportunity to slam the candidate from the left.

"He'll easily be their McGovern, an easy kill," mocked one senior Democrat operative Tuesday morning from Washington.

"His letting out murderers because they shout 'Jesus', his wanting to put 300,000 AIDS patients and Magic Johnson into isolation, ain't even scratching the surface of what we've got on him."

The discipline the Democrats have shown in not engaging Huckabee has earned the praise of one former Republican Party official:

"The Democrats are doing a much better job restraining themselves than the GOP did in 2003 when Howard Dean looked like he was on the brink of winning the nomination."

A close friend to Huckabee explains: "Look, Mike is Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare. They should be squirming."

Developing...
[This Post Continues after the jump...]

MP3s From CDs Are Unauthorized

This is ridiculous....

Slashdot | RIAA Argues That MP3s From CDs Are Unauthorized: "'It is undisputed that Defendant possessed unauthorized copies... Virtually all of the sound recordings... are in the '.mp3' format for his and his wife's use... Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs' recordings into the compressed .mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies...''"


and makes this all the more scary.. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Gun-Free-Zones

This is starting to come to light....

FOXNews.com - Media Coverage of Mall Shooting Fails to Reveal Mall's Gun-Free-Zone Status - Opinion

Let's see, which makes more sense...

• Gun Free Zone - 8 Killed, when done, the gunman killed himself
• Gun's Allowed Church - Only 2 killed, gunman shot by armed church member while the gunman had plenty of ammo left.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Copyright Police

Congress' copyright reform: seize computers, boost penalties, spend money

Before you think this only applies to the "real pirates" who profit from copyright violation, keep in mind that many people think coping a CD to a PC is a copyright violation, and this new law would allow police to take your PC just for that reason.

More Here... Copy That Floppy, Lose Your Computer
(http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/10/1522241)
Note that you do not have to be found guilty of ANYTHING to permanently loose your PC.

and Here [This Post Continues after the jump...]

RV parking rules

Brevard revisits RV parking rules | floridatoday.com | Serving Brevard County and Florida’s Space Coast

Our county commissioners have too much time on their hands. Where are people supposed to park their RV's if they can't park them on their own property? What is the point of OWNING property if you can't use it as you want to.

If you want to control your neighbor's property, then BUY it.. otherwise deal with it. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

All about coal--a necessary evil

FAQ: All about coal--a necessary evil | CNET News.com


Very interesting reading. If we could replace our use of gas with bio-fuels, hybrids, and electric cars, we could eliminate our dependence on oil.

But we would pollute more.

But we can develop ways to capture the pollution and CO2 at power plants. It sounds like there are many options. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Cut Greenhouse Gases AND Save Money

What?? You can save the planet AND save money??

Where have these guys been for the past 10 years !!

Study: U.S. could cut 28 percent of greenhouse gases | CNET News.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Thousands Call for British Teddy Bear Teacher to be Executed

FOXNews.com - Thousands in Sudan Call for British Teddy Bear Teacher's Execution - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

Absolutely absurd. If this were a US citizen, I would call for our government to expel the Sudanese ambassador and suspend all aid. It's absurd to think we can have anything resembling normal relations with a barbaric government (and people) who think this is appropriate "punishment" for what she did. The the people actually want to execute her!!

Where is the UN? Huh? Where is the UN council of human rights? Oh, Sudan is probably on the council!! So they will not do or say anything meaningful (if at all). [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Secret to Raising Smart Kids

"The Secret to Raising Smart Kids"

Our daughter is adopted, so when we say she is SMART, it's not an indirect compliment of ourselves. But she is smart and it's going to be a hard to keep her engaged in learning.

This is good info for any parent though..... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Raising Taxes on "The Rich"

TaxProf Blog: Democrats Debate Raising Taxes on "The Rich" -- $97,000 Per Year?

I never realized I was "Upper class" and "rich".
Guess I better go trade my 7 year old Honda in for a Beemmer and get some Italian suits or something.

And I was starting to like Obama too.... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Stem cell politics shifting

Stem cell politics shifting - Cosmic Log - msnbc.com

I fail to understand why people still cling to the position of using human embryos for research even as that research suggests alternatives. I mean it's like the actually HOPE human embryos will always be required to accomplish anything.

I for one, certainly hope we can do all the promised miracle cures WITHOUT the need of killing another person to accomplish the cure, or even to learn about the cure. The difference is what this new development is all about. They say we STILL need to research on embryonic stem cells to learn about them, but then we may be able to use non-embryonic stem cells to actually do the cure for any particular patient. This is great, but still doesn't cut it for me. Killing human embryo is unacceptable to me no matter what benefit it will or possibly will give us. My ethics are based on my ethical and moral beliefs, not some "cost/benefit" analysis. The line that cannot be crossed, still cannot be crossed no matter what I see on the other side. This is certainly all the more true if there is even a hint of a way to get some of the prize without crossing the line.

My line of not killing human embryos is NOT some infinite horizontal line above with we can never go. We can still move upward and improved and progress, we just have to avoid certain obstacles along the way. They may seem unavoidable, and they may seem to stop progress, but my experience is that it just slows us down some but that we can still progress even without selling our souls. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Electric Vehicles Compared

I hope I can hold out to 2010 for the Chev Volt.... and I hope I can afford it.... I would love to have one.. 40 miles will get me to work and back everyday. Plus I suspect that my employer (NASA) will install recharge stations at work to encourage this sort of thing. They already have small electric cars for people to drive around the center with.

I'm sure the first version will be buggy and all, but I'm also hoping for some tax incentives to help out with the higher "total cost of ownership" of these first generation EV/Generator cars.

Six Major Pre-Production Electric Vehicles Compared - DIY Electric Car Blogs [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Thanksgiving is a time of mourning?

FOXNews.com - Seattle Schools' Thanksgiving 'Myths' Stir Controversy - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

So called "Myth" No. 11: "Thanksgiving is a happy time." It was followed by "Fact: For many Indian people, 'Thanksgiving' is a time of mourning ... a bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal returned for friendship."

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Where Can Sex Offenders Live?

FOXNews.com - Georgia Court Overturns Ban Limiting Where Sex Offenders Can Live - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Well, this is good news... the laws were a good idea, but they are getting out of hand. Especially the "School Bus Stop" which can change from year to year and are everywhere. I support some, even a lot of limits on where registered sex offenders can live, but if they don't need to be locked up in jail, then they need to be allowed to live somewhere.

I also question the effectiveness of restricting where they live. Do they typically do crimes on kids near their home, or do they travel somewhere else? Do they typically do crimes in areas with LOTS of kids (schools and parks) or do they victimize kids in remote areas? There is a certain safety in numbers, isn't there?

Resticting where they live, IS VALID, but it has to be limited meaning it can effectively ban sex offenders from anywhere in a city. And it has to be "value added" in my opinion, meaning the ban has to make since and not just be an attempt to harass them so much that they go elsewhere. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Obama Wants to Slash NASA's Budget

Obama Wants to Slash NASA's Budget | NASA Watch


And I was just starting to like the guy.... merely because he might beat Hillary....
I would vote for him to to keep Hillary out... because I just don't see how any Republican is going to beat her in the general election.

But now he wants us to quit our human space program for 10 years!!! [This Post Continues after the jump...]

High Court to Hear D.C. Gun Ban Case

High Court to Hear D.C. Gun Ban Case - washingtonpost.com


This is interesting. The ban was overturned, so is the Supreme court hearing it so the Ban can be restored? Or are they hearing it to make the decision universal across the whole country and not just an isolated DC case?

I guess we will find out in 6-7 months.

I honestly don't see how people can read it as a "state right" or "collective right" and not an "individual right". I think anyone that reads it that way is being a little dishonest, and just looking to support their belief that certain guns should be banned. The amendment clearly says the "right of the people..." not "the right of the state"

But, if it is a collective right, then it would seem to require states to have a "well regulated Militia" so that people can exercise their collective right. It would be a pointless amendment if people have the "right" to have a gun if they are in a militia, but have no right or opportunity to be in a militia. It would be like writing the first amendment like this: The right of the people to pray to whatever god they believe in, while in church, shall not be infringed. But then outlawing churches. This would be pointless and not actually bestow any real right.

If owning a gun is contingent on being in a militia, then every state MUST be required to have a militia and regulate it as they see fit and can afford. I would actually like this interpretation, as long as the regulation of the militia was really done to make the militia better and more prepared, and not done to make people unwilling to sign up. I would think the cost would keep the regulation reasonable and similar to what some states now require for a concealed weapon permit. Stuff like safety education and actually firing the gun training. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Saudi defends verdict against gang-rape victim

Saudi defends verdict against gang-rape victim | Reuters

This is absurd!
How can we "support" a country and system of government like this? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

How Much Do You Infringe On A Daily Basis?

Techdirt: The Infringement Age: How Much Do You Infringe On A Daily Basis?

Here are some examples...

• Replying to an email with quoted text? Infringement!
• Reply to 20 emails? You're looking at $3 million in statutory damages.
• Doodle a sketch of a building? Unauthorized derivative work.
• Read a poem outloud? Unauthorized performance.
• Forward a photograph that a friend took? Infringement!
• Take a short film of a birthday dinner with some friends and catch some artwork on the wall in the background? Infringement!

and my own....

• Video your child's birthday party with the radio playing in the back-ground. Infringement!
• Copy music from CD's you own to your iPod. Infringement
• Use a song on a DVD showing you childhood photos - Infringement
• Video tape you daughters dance recital - Infringement
• Sing a song in the shower - Unauthorized performance
• Copy a DVD you own to take on vacation with a portable player - Infringement
• My Favorite, post the above list to my blog -- INFRINGEMENT !!

The cost for all of this? (not including my examples)

All told, he has committed at least eighty-three acts of infringement and faces liability in the amount of $12.45 million [plus possible criminal charges]

Here is a link to the Actual Paper. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Eminent Domain Gone Wild

reason.tv - Videos > National City: Eminent Domain Gone Wild

I'm going to have to watch this one, but I'll skip episode 2 .... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Laughing at the music industry!

Who else is laughing at the music industry? | Crave : The gadget blog:

"Warner, I appreciate your attempt to try to make amends, but actions speak louder than words. Call me when you strip DRM from songs, denounce the RIAA and lose the greed."

This is great!! I LOVE Apple, if only because they are doing to the Music Industry what the Music Industry did (and is doing) to artist (singers, song writers, performers, bands, etc). Apple dictates the rules to the labels the same way the labels dictate the rules to the artist, and Apple takes a cut of the profit the same way. The labels all HATE it, but it's just a taste of their own medicine!!

Of course this means that Apple is as evil and greedy as the labels... but that's beside the point! Eventually even Apple will become a useless middleman too.

UPDATE:
Here's more on what I think is the same speech. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Vista Death Watch

The Vista Death Watch - Columns by PC Magazine


I love this... this is so true. Especially the part about all the "versions". I mean Vista Ultimate is really the true Vista, everything else is just crippled. Why? Unlike a car manufacturer which sells a car with two different engines or fancy wheels, there is no real cost different between the different versions of Vista. A smaller engine costs less to make, so the car cost less to the customer. The cheaper versions of Vista cost the same to make, but Microsoft punishes you for not buying the over priced "ultimate". Why? because they can!!

I know I'll never get Vista until something I can't live without just will not run on XP.

Another few things Microsoft can do to increase sells of Vista is.

1 - Free it someone, allow once license to cover a few home PC's.
2 - Free it some more, allow Vista purchased on a new PC to be transfered to a repaired, rebuilt PC
3 - Free the content. Abandon the DRM features of the OS and the "protected video path" (whatever they call it)

I might actually willing upgrade if they did some of these things. (My previous statement is still valid because I know they will never do any of these things...)
[This Post Continues after the jump...]

DVD Ripping Faces Another Test

Argh... why is Hollywood so bent on protecting an encryption scheme that has been cracked already. The cats out of the bag already people!! If you don't support legal means of putting movies on a jukebox or computer, people will just use other means.

Changing the CCA license will

- do NOTHING to stop piracy.
- put an innovative company out of business.
- give the people that pay for DVD's less choices.
- prove that Hollywood believes there is (or should be) no such thing as "fair use"


It's ridiculous


- DVD Ripping Faces Another Test - News and Analysis by PC Magazine [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Forbidding Smoking In Private Lives

I don't see how a company can enforce their policy on people's private lives. Smoking is very unpopular right now, so this might be allowed, and strangely might be viewed as a "good idea".

But where does it stop? What other legal activities can an employer ban you from ever doing?

I hope someone stops this before it gets out of hand.


Fla. Companies Forbidding Smoking In Private Lives - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando [This Post Continues after the jump...]

$3 DVDs in China

Paramount and Warner Bros. market $3 DVDs in China:

Well, all I can say is THANK YOU pirates. This proves that piracy is a GOOD thing for us customers.
DVD's are too expensive, why do they cost $15-$20 here in the US if $3 still makes a profit? It's pure profiteering by the movie studios an makes there ridiculous claims of loosing "millions of dollars" to pirate all the more silly.

Now if they would just wise up and lower US prices too!! [This Post Continues after the jump...]

MLB Fans Who Bought DRM Videos Get Hosed

When will people learn.

If you buy something with DRM, you're not really "buying "it no matter what the price, or official "terms".
You are essentially "renting" it and they can "evict" you at any time, for any reason.

Slashdot | MLB Fans Who Bought DRM Videos Get Hosed

also at ..Baseball's DRM change strikes

Last year, the US Copyright Office considered—and then rejected—an exception to the DMCA that would give consumers in this sort of predicament some recourse. Under the proposed exception, those stuck with busted DRM schemes would have had the right to bypass the DRM. As it stands instead, paying customers are at the whims of content providers and whatever DRM clearinghouse they happen to be using at the time. It's no wonder so many sports fan turn to BitTorrent for game footage.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

P2P Downloaders Buy More Music

Michael Geist - Gov't Commissioned Study Finds P2P Downloaders Buy More Music

If you real about the case the RIAA won recently (RIAA Wins Key Victory) , you'll see that the person they sued for offering 20 songs online, also bought a lot of CDs.

This really is a case of the RIAA suing it's BEST customers.... when will they learn? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Hollywood writers near strike

Hollywood writers near strike over royalties on new technology | CNET News.com

I'm sorry, but just why do these writers think they should get paid continuously for work done once? I mean do the designers at Ford get paid for every car sold? Do most people get paid repeatedly for work they do once? I sure don't.

The whole "royalty" concept is going to hurt us if we don't control it. I don't see why there "artists" think they are different from the rest of us workers. Why should their "x days of labor" drive repeated income while my day's labor earns just a day's salary. I guess it's good work if you can get it, but it's ridiculous.

But in a way I don't blame them, movies and TV shows are way over priced and the money really should go to the "talent" and not to executives at media companies. But that's a different issue. The price all trickles down to us consumers.

Luckily things are changing -- because there are other ways to distribute TV shows now and the "networks" and "media" companies are becoming less and less important.

But it still sounds greedy to me. They want to be paid over and over for writing a funny joke once, where as I get paid once of anything I write at work. Doesn't seem fair to me...

More after the Jump....


Updated 11/3
I've been thinking about this more and more. Running a camera certainly takes talent and skill, and some might even call it an art. But I wonder if the camera operators get a cut of every DVD they sold? I doubt it.

Again I ask, WHY are the writers different?

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

Post-Scarcity

Wow, now I have a NAME for what I've been trying to say all along. You simply cannot apply the same concepts of "ownership" and "control" to a commodity that is not scarce. the "Digital" world changes everything. People still say that illegal downloading is "stealing" but it's nonsense. I think people are starting to see this now.

The music "industry" has already lost its customers, because it treats them like crap, and now it's loosing its artists too. I honestly don't see how a middle man industry can survive without the support of the people on both sides of them, or at least the support of one side. The RIAA has neither!!

Rock stars following in open-source developers' footsteps | Crave : The gadget blog

Data is a post-scarcity commodity. Post-scarcity, as the name suggests, is the successor of scarcity, upon which our current economic systems are built. When you consume scarce goods - eat a chocolate bar, or buy a CD - there is one less of that commodity in the marketplace. But when you consume a post-scarce item - download an application, or an mp3 - you copy it. Meaning there is now one more of that commodity out there, not less. This is how the success of a post-scarce product is measured, by the number of times it has been reproduced.

And this is of course very similar to how the music industry works. Or how it would work if you were to take the record companies out of the picture. In a crowded marketplace the greatest issue for a new band is being heard, getting their music to as many ears as possible, not maximising the profit on shifting units. There are a hundred thousand people with the talent to write a great song, but there are only a select few who can attract a wide audience with it. This initial recognition has nothing to do with the pricing mechanisms of CDs, it is to do with reputation. Kudos is the main commodity of agalmic economics.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

G.I. Joe was just a toy, wasn't he?

Wow.... I never knew this.... (oh and Snopes has nothing on this, one way or another..)

ReviewJournal.com - Opinion - VIN SUPRYNOWICZ: G.I. Joe was just a toy, wasn't he? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Video Prince Doesn't Want You to See

ABC News: The Video Prince Doesn't Want You to See

THIS is the sort of thing that has to STOP. Prince sung "Let's Go Crazy" and then he actually did go Crazy. The DCMA should make it automatically a crime to falsely demand a take down. But hopefully they will win in their civil case, and win BIG enough to make them think twice before issuing such a bogus take down notice.

If we don't stop things now they will develop technology where your home video camera will "refuse" to record if it hears a copyrighted work being played in the background. You think I'm exaggerating? try connecting a DVD player to your TV/VCR combo set. The TV automatically detects that a "copyrighted DVD" is being played and messes up the picture even if you are just watching it. They prevent you from watching it because it "might" be recorded (as if copying a DVD to VHS is anything anyone would waist there time doing these days..!). Recording devices MUST follow this ridiculous scheme. And the music/movie industry will only increase their control if we let them.

Here's the "offending" video...



more here... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

One in five pregnancies ends in abortion

This is truly a sad statistic...
42 million children killed in 2003 alone...
and 48% of them were "unsafe"...
..........unless your the child in which case 100% of them were "unsafe"....

One in five pregnancies ends in abortion: study [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Muslims Leaders Warn Pope Survival of World is at Stake

Interesting, I'm going to have to read the whole thing.

But Muslims typically portray themselves as victims of religious persecution even when we attack them (like in Iraq and Afghanistan) for other reasons. I hope this letter addresses that America has legitimate issues with groups that happened to be Muslim.

FOXNews.com - Muslims Leaders Warn Pope 'Survival of World' at Stake - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News [This Post Continues after the jump...]

For RIAA, a black eye comes with the job

Poor Poor RIAA... it's a thankless job..but they actually think someone has to do it...

For RIAA, a black eye comes with the job | CNET News.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

RIAA wins key victory

It's a sad day when sharing a 99 cent song (From iTunes, and overpriced even at 99 cents) can result in a fine of over $9000. Did 9000 people REALLY download it from her instead of buying it? Would it still be available for download even without her sharing it?

But the useless "middle men" music industry has to protect it's cash cow (while pretending to protect artist and song writers). If it were a real artist sueing the lady I might feel different, but I doubt any artist, song writer, or singer will see a cent of the $220,000 fine she must pay. The lawyers and the "industry" will take it all.

RIAA wins key victory; accused file sharer must pay $220,000 | Tech news blog - CNET News.com


Also

Why the RIAA should have won (though the fine was too high)

Think about the fine for one moment. Did you ever make a "favorites" tape back in high school and give it to some... that'll cost you $9000 per song on the tape. Heck, even loaning the CD would be the same as "making a copyrighted song available" because the person could have copied it to tape.

I think the high fines were meant to be for people that were PROFITING from copyright violation. People that copy CDs and sell them on the street or a flea markets for a few bucks should have a high fine to balance the potential profit. But sharing two CD's worth of songs should not cost you the same as your house. I seriously think she would have a case on appeal that this is an "excessive fine" in violation of the 8th amendment.

Until the digital age, copying something was expensive and would not be done on a large scale unless the copies could be sold. Photocopying an entire book was (and is) more expensive than buying the book itself. Setting up a printing press to run a lot of copies would require a lot of capital, so people doing were probably selling the copies and thus a large fine is reasonable. But today copying is so easy and causal that people do it with no profit motive, so the fine should not be this high. To me copyright law as always been about protecting the right of authors (and only the author) to PROFIT from their works. Anything done without profiting from it should be allowed.

And before you think I'm being silly, realize that according to the RIAA copying your songs from your CD to your MP3 player is copyright violation, so multiply the songs on your iPod by $9000 and see if you think that is an acceptable fine. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Originalism and the Supreme Court

Great Article.... but it's out right scary that Clinton might get to nominate 4 Supreme Court Justices.

The Federalist Society » Publications - Wall Street Journal Op-ed by Steven G. Calabresi [This Post Continues after the jump...]

School Keeps Christmas, Halloween; Adds Ramadan

cbs2chicago.com - School Keeps Christmas, Halloween; Adds Ramadan

This sounds like a good outcome. Freedom OF religion is very different from freedom FROM religion. Many people believe removing all references to religion is somehow "Neutral" it isn't. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Do we need NASA?

I'm Still reading it, but wanted to post it....

Do we need NASA? | CNET News.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Americans should not fear talking -and listening to those whose views we loathe.

This is very well said. I for one thought the whole incident was over blown. I don't think I would have invited Ahmadinejad to speak at anything I was running, but I wouldn't protest him speaking anywhere either. But someone should accept this invitation to speak somewhere in Iran. Or maybe the President should write an open letter to the people of Iran and see how much of it gets published in Iran.

I think Ahmadinejad would soon realize that HE is the one that does not want an truly OPEN dialog between the people of the US and the people of Iran.

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Judge Rules 2 Patriot Act Provisions Unlawful

FOXNews.com - Judge Rules 2 Patriot Act Provisions Unlawful - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

I this took a long time to come about..
I've never understood the need for warrantless searches when there was a secret court setup to approve secret searches. The FBI's own records shows this has been abused and court oversight would stop most of that. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Soros Threat To Democracy

Follow the money.....

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily - The Soros Threat To Democracy [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Space Germs are Deadlier

FOXNews.com - Germs Taken to Space Come Back Deadlier - Science News | Current Articles:

This is interesting... plus I may have worked on this in a small way at KSC... I'm trying to find out what the experiment name was... more later

It was an experiment named "Microbe" built by Bioserve
although the science may have been done by a different university [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Was John Paul II Euthanized?

The title is misleading, at least by my definition of "Euthanized", but according to the author it fits the official catholic definition. We'll never know for sure, and in this case, even knowing all the "facts" would still leave a lot up to opinion and judgment calls.

The point of the author appears not to be to criticize what was done by the Pope, but to criticize how the church deals with people in similar situations that do similar things.

Was John Paul II Euthanized? - TIME [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Ice age or Greenhouse?

This is by Global warming scare mongers have no credit in my view. They are too quick to jump on a "consensus" bandwagon. Too quick to blame human activity for what may be natural changes.

Want proof? Read this.

The 'Old' Consensus?

Computer models can give you any result you want them to, even if you don't realize you want a particular result. Maybe CO2 caused Global warming is true and is happening, but these early adopters don't get any credit for "guessing right this time" in my book. They keep throwing out predictions and when one finally comes true, they act like they are so smart and visionary.

No, they are scare mongers who, like a blind squirrel, may find a nut once in a while.


Update
Hansen was funded by George Soros [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Andrew Meyer is no Lemon

Maybe if I put "Andrew Meyer" on my blog, I'll get noticed too....
I mean, this IS a political blog, and I currently have no one to really "reason" with despite the blog's name.
So all I have to do is get tasered somewhere for a silly, non violent reason.... hummm.... think I'll pass....

From Hog On Ice

from http://www.imao.us/archives/008738.html

and originally from http://instapundit.com/archives2/009695.php [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Biofuels May Be Worse Than Oil

Well, it sounded like a good idea....

FOXNews.com - Study: Biofuels May Disperse More Greenhouse Gases Than Oil - Science News | Current Articles [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Sea Level Rise - Florida Maps

According to this... Titusville (My home town) will be BEACH FRONT property within 50-150 years.... I live about a mile from the intercostal waterway (aka "the river") but that will soon be the ocean. So I'll be 1 mile from the BEACH... wowhoo...

Of course I don't know where I'll be working since the Kennedy Space Center will be underwater....
DGESL : Research : Climate Change and Sea Level : Sea Level Rise : USA: Florida : Images

Story here...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RISING_SEAS?SITE=FLROC&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT [This Post Continues after the jump...]

What to do with my Home Movies?

I'll get away from my political and social postings... Here is something REALLY important.

What do you do with your home movies. In my case, the situation is even worse. I bought a digital camcorder right before I got married, but I went with the "Digital 8mm" tape format. This format will end much sooner than the MiniDV tape format and I'll soon be stuck with lots of unreadable tapes (once my 8 year old camcorder dies...)

So what should I do? I've thought of everything..
1 - I could copy everything to MiniDV tape.. A slow half realtime process that would require copying it to my PC and then to the new tape. Plus I would have to buy a miniDV camera.

2 - I could copy everything to a harddrive. It would take 13 gig per 1 hour tape, but that's doable. But is a harddrive safe enough? So I would have to have two drives just in case. Plus I don't know how long a harddive keeps its data when not used.

3 - I could copy to DVD but that would mean spillting the 13 gigs into 3 DVDs. Doable but time consuming.

4 - I have edited most of the best tapes and make good DVD's with menus and all and I've made several copies re-burn them when they start skipping in the DVD player. But DVD is lower quality than the original DV footage, but more accessible. So even this is a trade off.

My current solution has been to make DVD's of the most important videos. Burn several copies, keep them in different locations, and even keep an ISO or VOB files on my PC and an external harddrive (kept at work). The Digital8mm tape itself if a backup for a while longer. Even if my camera dies, I would probably buy a cheap playback only unit just in case.

Beware the tapeless camcorder | CNET News.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

MediaDefender's antipiracy woes

It makes me chuckle to see how much money the record labels were wasting on services like this.... Of course the fact that they HAVE this much money to waste proves that prices for CDs and downloads are too high (or their cut of them is too high).

Maybe, just maybe media companies are realizing the futility of this approach. I'm sure they will find an equally bad approach to try next.

MediaDefender and the Media companies are in a similar position. Both are trying franticly to prove they matter, to prove that they do anything worth the money they are paid. But they aren't and both will be out of business or have to drastically change there business model soon.

Leaked e-mails reveal MediaDefender's antipiracy woes | CNET News.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Maryland gets it right.

I haven't read the opinion yet, and probably won't because I have no one to really discuss it with, but from this and what I heard on NPR today, Maryland got it right.

This has nothing to do with weather gays SHOULD have the right to marry, it has to do with if the state constitution already gives them that right. Common sense and the state supreme court says it doesn't. No matter where you stand on this issue, I would hope you would agree that society has the right to make our own rules and laws. The constitutions of the US and the states protect a few rights from being infringed, but this protection was itself agreed to by a majority (or even a super majority) when the constitution was ratified. To come in decades later and reinterpret what basic rights the constitution protects is in my opinion a cop out, it short circuits the democratic process. I can guarantee you that the people who ratified the Maryland constitution never thought it would be used to force the acceptance of gay marriage.

Essentially I'm saying that the right to gay marriage needs to come from the legislature, not the courts. To claim that the right to gay marriage is "already in the constitution" is foolish and dangerous. If the language is that loose, then another group can find the right to just about anything "already" in the constitution. The abuse of "equal rights" or "equal protection" phrase is sickening in my option. There is nothing "unequal" about defining who one can marry. It is similar to defining who can park in disable parking places. I can't because I don't fit the definition of "disabled" but I'm not treated UNequally at all, because the definition is clear and applies to everyone equally.

Anyways, I'm rambling here so I'll just go to bed...


Maryland justices say no to marriage - Yahoo! News [This Post Continues after the jump...]

NYTimes Betrays Journalistic Integrity

But is anyone really surprised ???

TIMES GIVES LEFTIES A HEFTY DISCOUNT FOR 'BETRAY US' AD | By CHARLES HURT Bureau Chief | National News | US News | Current National News [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Fair Use Worth More to Economy Than Copyright

ouch.... It's a bad day when your copyrighted work is worth more to others than to yourself. But that's the way it always has been.. What good is it if you write a great book, but no one knows about. You could talk yourself blue saying it's "great" but people see that as bias. So other people that have read your book must be allowed to write about it and even quote it (without paying you). This generates interest in you book and increases your sales, but it also may make money for the "reviewers". If the book becomes widely reviewed and quoted, it may actually make MORE money for the reviewers than it does for you. But if the copyright owner tries to get a cut of the money the reviews and other "fair use" users of his work make, then he's killing the goose that made his work so popular to begin with.

Fair Use Worth More to Economy Than Copyright, CCIA Says -- Copyright -- InformationWeek [This Post Continues after the jump...]

What Scientific Consensus on Global Warming?

This is indeed interesting.... maybe now we can start working on solving the real problems, mainly non-CO2 (i.e. old fashioned) pollution and our dependence on oil.

Challenge to Scientific Consensus on Global Warming: Analysis Finds Hundreds of Scientists Have Published Evidence Countering Man-Made Global Warming Fears - Press Release [This Post Continues after the jump...]

City puts bite in 'no barking' ordinance

With cities like this.... who needs Home Owner Associations....
(For those of you how don't get it... Cities = Friends (normally) while HOA = Enemy)

An outright ban on owning a dog would probably not be accepted, but this round-about-way to ban it is! I wonder why? I guess it is kind of like the frog that get cooked because it cannot sense a slow rise in water temperature. People just don't sense these encroachments on our rights.

The Daily Commercial | City puts bite in 'no barking' ordinance


UPDATE
http://www.wftv.com/news/14100550/detail.html
It seems people are in an uproar over this... as they should be! Which proves my point that "city government" is large enough to have enough diversity (of opinion if nothing else) to protect people's rights. Small HOA simply do not. I'm sure a rule like this would pass easily in a bunch of HOA across the country. People think "I don't have a dog" or "My small dog's bark can't be heard outside the house" so why should I care about and protect other people's rights. It's only when you have enough people, so of which that think "wait a minute, I have a dog, and he barks more than 3 times a day." that people are moved to protect their own and other people's rights.

The best quote form the above link: "I'm a little perplexed myself at how much publicity this has generated," said police chief Randy Scoggins."

Could this guy be any more clueless?? What did he think would happen with a law that tickets a dog owner for having a dog that does ..well it does what dogs do -- BARK.

Also - Mt. Dora's chief of police said he got a telephone call all the way from London, England. A reporter for the BBC believes the city's plan to quiet barking dogs goes too far. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

‘Feel Good’ vs. ‘Do Good’ on Climate

Keep in mind when you read this, that this is from someone who BELIEVES in global warming.... yet even he says Kyoto is worthless...

‘Feel Good’ vs. ‘Do Good’ on Climate - New York Times [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Truth Project

This is an interesting video I'm watch at my Church... It's nothing really "new" to me in concept, but there is a lot to learn...

The Truth Project [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Iraq: The Facts

Many Americans who haven't been paying close attention have built up a false image of Iraq that meets their own personal or political needs and has only incidental contact with reality. The real Iraq is something else.

read more | digg story [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Next Fifty Years in Space

an interesting look at Space Travel 50 years from now..... something that would be right at home see while waiting in line at Space Mountain.... 50 years just doesn't seem long enough for any of this, other than the moon stuff, to happen.

The Next Fifty Years in Space - Associated Content [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Music exec says business model is 'done'

The writing has been on the wall for years... it's good to see that the music industry has learn to read!!

The sooner they give up their insane and draconian attempts to hold on the the OLD business model, the better we ALL will be.

Music exec says business model is 'done' | Tech news blog - CNET News.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Public 'wary of green tax motives'

This is in Britain but I think the same would be true in the US. Except here we don't so much raise taxes for this as much as we put new costly regulations on industry. It has a similar effect though.

I need to find some US polls.

But for me the buggiest reason I oppose the efforts of the "global warming club" is that I get suspicious when they use future doomsday problems to try and justify some new law restricting something. I realize there needs to be balance and in deed some laws restricting certain industries are very important. But when they say something like "New York will be underwater if we don't raise the average gas mileage of US cars" I can't take them seriously...


Public 'wary of green tax motives' | the Daily Mail [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Human-animal embryos

And so we start down the slippery slope ......

I mean besides the obvious... "let's study nature by creating and then destroying something completely UNnatural" contradiction... what else is wrong with this?

I don't think history will look favorably this period and these decisions...

Human-animal embryo study wins approval | Science | The Guardian [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Illogical Court Ruling in Iowa on Gay-Marriage

Here we go...

I honestly don't get the judge's logic..

"Couples, such as plaintiffs, who are otherwise qualified to marry one another may not be denied licenses to marry or certificates of marriage or in any other way prevented from entering into a civil marriage pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 595 by reason of the fact that both persons compromising such a couple are of the same sex."

However, I can "otherwise qualify" for anything if you remove the one requirement I don't meet.

For example, I can "otherwise quality" to vote in Iowa by being over 18, not being a felon, etc. But I'm stilled denied the right to vote in Iowa "by reason of the fact that " I don't live in Iowa. It seems to me that using this judge's logic, anyone that fails to quality for ANYTHING for only ONE reason can now be considered to qualify.

I could meet a woman tomorrow, fall in love his her and "otherwise quality" to marry her except for ONE little detail... I'm already Married. So using this logic, I would still be able to marry this person despite the fact that I fail one of the "qualification" needed to be allowed to marry. Why is the requirement to be "not already married" valid and the requirement to be "of opposite gender" not valid?

I can understand the judge or anyone disagreeing with the requirement, but nothing about it violates any "equal-protection" clause. Everyone has the SAME rules for who they can and cannot marry. No matter what you think I, no anyone else, has the absolute right to "marry a person of their choosing". The choice is limited by several things. First (in no particular order) the other person must also choose to marry me, 2nd the other person must not currently be married to someone else, 3rd the person must be old enough to get married. I see no reason why adding "the other person must be of the opposite gender" make the law "unequal". You may disagree with it, it may make you angry, but in reality it is simply just ONE MORE requirement that applies EQUALLY to everyone.

Can someone explain to me how a law that applies equally to everyone violates a "equal-protection" clause?

Iowa court rules same-sex couples can marry - CNN.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Florida Statute forbids issue-oriented polls

This is odd... now you can't ask people what they believe or want....

Statute forbids issue-oriented polls | floridatoday.com | Serving Brevard County and Florida’s Space Coast [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Turkey's New President

I think I posted something on this before. The Media makes it sound like this guy is a Taliban or something. Turkey is SO secular that religious garments are banned in Gov't building. Legally enforced secularism is no different than legally enforced religion. I'm not saying this guy is not a wolf in sheep clothing and that he may set things back at lot, just that I think they need to be "set back" a little. Turkey needs freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.

FOXNews.com - Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul Elected President - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Judge sides with RIAA

Notice..

Leaving your door unlocked and having CD's inside may soon be "direct infringement" of copyright.
(because someone could come in, copy your CD's and leave...)

Judge sides with RIAA: file-sharing apps lead to direct infringement [This Post Continues after the jump...]

NASA to launch Luke's lightsaber

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME AND EFFORT...
I'm ashamed to even make it known....

collectSPACE - news - "NASA shuttle to launch Luke's lightsaber" [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Scientists to use make Animal/Human hybrid embryos

Scientists' plea to use new hybrid embryos | Science | The Observer

Where does this end? Once we start down this road, it will never end. There just seems that there is so much more we could be researching then making thousands of cow/human hybrid and hoping to stumble upon something that can be used in adult humans.

We have indeed lost our way.... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith

Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith - TIME [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Coupon Hacker Faces DMCA Lawsuit

Coupon Hacker Faces DMCA Lawsuit:

"'I honestly think there are big problems when you are not allowed to delete files off of your computer,' says Stottlemire"

This is an interesting case. Does the DMCA cover "trivial" protection. Does the DMCA prevent you from merely deleting a file on your own PC? I routinely delete "cookies" off my PC, and I know that doing so prevents some websites from tracking me and maybe from making some money off me (by proving they have repeat viewers). Am I breaking any law by deleting these files? Are these cookies "copyrighted" or protected by the DMCA? The same goes for windows registry keys.

If a company's protection scheme is so trivial, I don' think it warrants this level of legal protection that takes over legal control of my PC (not allowing editing the register or deleting files)

Unless... and this is a big point with me... EVERYONE went to a simple method of "protection". If music (for example) was not actually protected from copying, and the law allowed the people that buy it a wide area of "fair use" then the protection would be "legal" more than "physical". The difference is that people would be able to make fair use copies (since there is no real protection), but if they start mass producing copies, then the law would allow them to be arrested (since there is legal protection).

Typically DRM does NOT stop the mass production pirates that profit from reselling copied movies or music. But they DO stop honest people from making personal copies for iPods or car DVD players or for Grandma (for when the kids visit).

But I digress since this guy is NOT copying something, NOT even CHANGING something, but simply DELETING something. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

University taps sewers for web access - Proves Dilbert Right

A Dilbert comic Comes True!!!


University taps sewers for web access - Internet - www.itnews.com.au [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Artificial Life Likely in 3 to 10 Years

Artificial Life Likely in 3 to 10 Years

As a Christian I really wonder if God will allow us to cross this line. It seems that our knowledge of genetics (artificial life, embryonic stem cells, cloning, etc) is getting to the point where it can be dangerous to ourselves. (as in "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing" sort of dangerous, not that we could actually be dangerous to God or something.)

I'm not predicting anything, but I do something wonder if the end times are closer than we would like to think, of if something will happen to set us back a bit (like the "tower of babel" where God intervened to stop humans from working together) [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Immigration Activist Deported to Mexico

Immigration Activist Deported to Mexico

This sounds like it should have happened a long time ago. The fact that her son is a US citizen and she isn't doesn't mean they both get to stay in the US. Children don't have a say when they live, the go with there parents. Ms Arellano can live anywhere she's legally allowed to, and take her son with her.

I don't know the situation, but if she was here illegally when her son was born, I don't think he should be a US citizen. Birthright citizenship should not be absolute. There should be exceptions for people born here when there mothers were here illegally or just temporarily.

But of course that would be using common sense which is that last thing that gets applied to the immigration debate.

Please note I'm not saying that the boy should have his citizenship stripped, just that citizenship should not be granted in future similar cases. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Frozen Smoke (Aerogel)

Sounds too good to be true..... I kept waiting for "But wait! That's not all...."

Scientists hail ‘frozen smoke’ as material that will change world - Times Online [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Did Life Begin In Space?

hummmmmmm....

ScienceDaily: Did Life Begin In Space? New Evidence From Comets [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Gay and Christian?

This is nothing new, and I don't like the tone of this article. Nicoll ridicules the author of the book he's reviewing instead of just pointing out the book's weaknesses. While this makes for more entertaining reading (if you agree with the author) it doesn't do much for people like me trying to sort all of this out.

That being said, I still tend to agree with Nicoll and I don't understand how Christians can make homosexuality acceptable. Forgivable, yes, even forgivable without repentance, but not a "blessing from God".

Gay and Christian? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Red faces at NASA over climate-change blunder

I had heard this was a Y2K error, but this makes it sound like a "adjustment factor" error.
Adjustment factors are scary to me because while its easy to say "this data needs to be adjusted" it's hard to say how much. So you basically get to add a fudge factor that can be set to anything. Depending on the overall data set, the adjustment factor could be set to yield different conclusions.

TheStar.com - sciencetech - Red faces at NASA over climate-change blunder [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Cellulosic ethanol: A fuel for the future?

This sounds great.. fuel from a current "waste" product. It just sounds like it takes a lot of energy to make the ethanol, so I don't know the net gain.. of course it takes energy to refine oil into gasoline too, so ethanol doesn't have to be perfect to be better than oil/gasoline production.

And the idea of using a waste or byproduct is great.

Cellulosic ethanol: A fuel for the future? | CNET News.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Language of NASA

FOXNews.com - Language of NASA: Breaking Down Acronyms One Letter at a Time - Blogs:

This is hilarious....

"Everyone here [at NASA] is not just smart, they're super smart. They all have four or five degrees. Their research interests include things I can't even pronounce, much less explain."

I only have two degrees (3 counting high school, but I don't think that counts) and the only thing I'm "researching" is the silly paperwork system for facility maintenance here at KSC. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Scientists debate ethanol's benefits

Ethanol cars still burn hydrocarbons and make pollution. The main difference is that the carbon in Ethanol was taken from the atmosphere when the corn (or other plant) grew. Whereas the carbon in Oil/Gas was taken from the atmosphere millions (or thousands) of years ago.

The pollution made when ethanol or gasoline is burned will stay in the atmosphere for the same amount of time, and cause the same problems.

Scientists debate ethanol's benefits | floridatoday.com | Serving Brevard County and Florida’s Space Coast [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Rosemount going ahead with plans to force sale of land

I'm sure this is a complex issue, and this doesn't cover all the facts.
But this is an interesting case.

I firmly believe that a property owner should have absolute power to set their "asking price" for any property they own. Cities should not be able to lower that price using eminent domain unless it is to be used for something that can only be done at that location (a street widening, dam, flood control, etc..). Even then I think the city should pay 'above' market value for property if it's taking it by force. This would make the city look elsewhere (if possible) for property that is willing to be sold and also give the owner something in exchange for his involuntary lost of property.

But this case seem to be that someone bought the property knowing the city was interested, paid more than the land was worth, and now wants to make profit from the city. In this case the city's ability to "take" the land may be an important counterbalance to pure profiteering by a land owner.

Rosemount going ahead with plans to force sale of land [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Global-Warming Deniers

This is hilarious, just about everything they accuse the "Global Warming Deniers" of doing, this article does. Mainly they just present their opinion that the Science is settled and that doubters are just trying to muddy the waters and not pointing out any real weaknesses in the science.

Why should I believe this opinion piece and not the ones this piece makes fun of.

They make people, like me, that doubt the global warming hysteria out to be pure evil people that know the true but try to hide it for personal short term gain.

I'm sorry but when anyone attacks people like that it makes me mistrust what they are selling.


Global-Warming Deniers: A Well-Funded Machine - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Earmarks - Murtha nabs $150M pork

I wonder if the new reporting requirement will actually effect anything. Just because something is an "earmark" doesn't mean it's wasted money. A lot of this does real research or provides a real service. but clearly not all of it, and clearly Congress isn't the best place to decide where this money should be spent.

On the other hand, if congress just told the DOD to spend x amount researching or building something, then the decision of where to do it would be in the hands or bureaucrats, who are not exactly above corruption themselves.

But I do find it odd that Congress is funding the operations of an office that the agency wants to shutdown. This is clearly the case of a congressman putting the interest of his district above the interest of the country and should be an impressment to the congressman. But it won't because the voters in his district expect him to bring in the jobs and money even if it doesn't consider the big picture.

TheHill.com - Murtha nabs $150M pork [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Music suit creates discord

Business & Technology | Music suit creates discord | Seattle Times Newspaper


I fail to understand the idea that some people have that they should constantly be paid for their work. Do I get paid for work produced last year? Does Honda get paid every time I drive my car? NO! so why should a song writer or performer? I honestly fail to understand this. Can someone help? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Sen. Barack Obama Outlines Plans to Root Out Overseas Terrorists

FOXNews.com - Sen. Barack Obama Outlines Plans to Root Out Overseas Terrorists - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum:

"'If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will.'" -- Barack Obama

How is this different from President Bush having intelligence about Iraqi WMD and acting when the UN wouldn't act?? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Toilet sign is free speech

The infuriating part is that if there was a HOA in this neighborhood, this sign would NOT be allowed (or more specifically, the HOA would be allowed to force this sign to be removed.)

This is where I don't understand HOA's. If the Constitution limits the power of the federal, state, and local governments, it should also limit the power of a HOA. But for some reason it doesn't.

Code officials: Toilet sign is free speech | floridatoday.com | Serving Brevard County and Florida’s Space Coast [This Post Continues after the jump...]

University of Colorado Fires Ward Churchill

Well, its about time...

FOXNews.com - University of Colorado Board Votes to Fire Embattled Professor Ward Churchill - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Pope: Other Christian Denominations Not True Churches

FOXNews.com - Pope: Other Christian Denominations Not True Churches - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

I don't know why this is such a surprise, Catholics have always said they were the one true or "universal" Church, it would be hard for them to change that now.

This is in fact, the ONLY real problem I have with the Catholic Church. I have lots of disagreements with them things I can wait to find out the truth about once I'm in Heaven (And I'm willing to bet we're all wrong!!).

I also have great respect for Catholics that live by there beliefs. I would never suggest that a Catholic do anything that violated their own conscience. I may live differently, but I'm not sure enough in my belief to impose it on them. This is where we have a problem because Catholics ARE sure enough in their beliefs to try and impose them on me. Considering the history of the Catholic Church, I just don't see how that can be supported. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Music licensing companies come calling for royalties

Next they'll come try and make me pay for singing a copyrighted song in the shower.

This is ridiculous, how do they know which songs were sung so the right person gets the money? They don't, they are just collecting money from any place that dares offer entertainment. If they can send people to small places like this for a couple hundred dollars a year, I bet there overhead is so high the "artist" don't get anything.

It's reports like this that give the whole music industry a bad name. The artist don't benefit from this crap, they probably started out working in places like this (and worst) and if they all go out of business or quit offering live entertainment, where will the new artist come from?

They're killing music by killing the training ground!!

Music licensing companies come calling for royalties | floridatoday.com | Serving Brevard County and Florida’s Space Coast [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Violence continues to rise! Withdrawal may be necessary.

Violent crime up again, more murders, robberies - Yahoo! News

No, this isn't about Iraq, its about the USA. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Eye of the Beholder

VDH's Private Papers::Eye of the Beholder

Awesome article by Victor Hanson. If the news focused on the violence an cost of running California, I'm sure some people would be demanding we withdraw. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

DRM vs. Hackers: Time to Surrender?

DRM vs. Hackers: Time to Surrender?

Let's hope DRM goes quickly.... [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Chastity or Not: The Pressures of Sex Influencing The Quest for Love

FOXNews.com - Chastity or Not: The Pressures of Sex Influencing The Quest for Love - Blogs

I bet this just falls on deaf ears.... no one cares anymore. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Let's say I break into your house ....

I got this from a friend in an email chain, I don't forward these on but I thought I would post it here.. and I've tried to keep all the colorful formatting it came with, but I couldn't copy the funny clipart...

Let's say I break into your house

A lady wrote the best letter in the Editorials in ages!!! It explains things better than all the baloney you hear on TV.

Her point:

Recently large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Congress is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration.

Certain people are angry that the US might protect its own borders, might make it harder to sneak into this country and,
once here, to stay indefinitely.

Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests.
Let's say I break into your house.
Let's say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave.

But I say, "I've made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors.

I've done all the things you don't like to do. I'm hard-working and honest
(except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters:

You are Required to let me stay in your house
You are Required to add me to your family's insurance plan
You are Required to Educate my kids
You are Required to Provide other benefits to me & to my family

(my husband will do all of your yard work because he is also hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part).

If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs

that proclaim my RIGHT to be there.

It's only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than I do, and I'm just trying to better myself. I'm a hard-working and honest, person, except for well,
you know, I did break into your house

And what a deal it is for me!!!

I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of cold,
uncaring, selfish, prejudiced, and bigoted behavior.

Oh yeah, I DEMAND that you to learn MY LANGUAGE!!! so you can communicate with me.

Why can't people see how ridiculous this is?! Only in America .
if you agree, pass it on (in English).
Share it if you see the value of it.

If not blow it off......... along with your future Social Security funds, and a lot of other things.

[This Post Continues after the jump...]

China's Military Growth A Concern

FOXNews.com - Pentagon Report Says China's January Missile Test on Satellite, Other Actions Cause for Concern - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum

America is powerful, but we are too dependent on an high-tech edge, and we can be surprised too easily. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

A Great Idea Lives Forever. Should not Its Copyright? ..eh.. NO it shouldn't!

A Great Idea Lives Forever. Shouldn’t Its Copyright? - New York Times

Mark Helprin shows perfectly the fallacy of confusing property (physical property) with the made up term "intellectual property". The two are not the same thing and trying to use the same terms to describe them is wrong and leads to silly notions.

For example, the author talks of an artist "work" as the writing a novel or a song, but the actual "work" is complete once the original manuscript is written. This object (the manuscript) would be his or his heirs forever. But a "copy" of the work, long hand, typewritten, or digitally copied, is the physical labor of someone else. This leads to another "object" which the original author doesn't control under any natural law. An author simply cannot publish a work AND prevent it from being copied at the same time. Thus copyright law is needed and it is very different from laws governing physical property.

Mr. Helprin sees no problem with himself and his heirs getting paid for there creative "work" year after year as long as someone is benefiting from it. But if this concept was applied to physical objects, I would be paying the carpenters that built my house a little every month. No one seems to think that carpenters should continue to be paid for the items they make, so why should authors?

It is absurd to continue to treat "great ideas" physical property, they are not. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Book Excerpt: The Assault on Reason -- By Al Gore -- TIME

Book Excerpt: The Assault on Reason -- by Al Gore -- TIME

A very interesting read. I don't know if this was taken as a whole, or if it was edited, but there are some points that can be made.

He talks about the value of PRINT for getting news, and how TV doesn't work because it is a ONE-WAY medium. It seems to be that PRINT is a ONE-WAY medium too.

The funniest point was when he ended a paragraph talking about the need for the "respect of the rule of reason" then in the next paragraph it complains about how "MoveOn.org" wasn't treated fairly. Using "reason" and "MoveOn.org" that close together was a big mistake.

Many Americans now feel that our government is unresponsive and that no one in power listens to or cares what they think. They feel disconnected from democracy. They feel that one vote makes no difference, and that they, as individuals, have no practical means of participating in America's self-government. Unfortunately, they are not entirely wrong.

This is his best point. But WHY do American's feel powerless? Is it, as Gore suggests, because we don't have a healthy marketplace of ideas, of good public debate? I don't think so, I think it is because the Federal government has too much centralized, bureaucratic, power. Gore sees this so clearly when he talks about the effect media centralization has had, or the fears of centralized control of the internet, but he doesn't see centralized government power as dangerous. Like with media, the POWER of government comes from MONEY. If the federal government's budget was cut, then the Senate would once again be a place or reason debate on policy and direction or the country.

(sorry I gotta run right now)
But seriously, the Federal government hasn't worked the way Gore thinks it should since the Income Tax amendment was passed. This this was moved back to the States, then the federal government would work better, I think. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Climate Momentum Shifting: Prominent Scientists Now Skeptics

.: U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works :: Minority Page :.

Sounds like a CLIMATE CHANGE in Global Warming doctrine. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

"Attempted" copyright infringement

Tech news blog - Gonzales proposes new crime: "Attempted" copyright infringement | CNET News.com

Just how do you attempted to violate copyright, but fail? [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Run, Newt, Run....

ABC News: Gingrich: 'Great Possibility' of '08 Bid

Unfortunately I don't think Gingrich can win the general election. I wish he was, and if he's a candidate, I would support him. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Favors for Muslim students?

Editorial: No favors for Muslim students - Examiner.com

Why is this happening? According to Instapundit...

THE ANSWER TO THE EXAMINER’S QUESTION IS SIMPLE: It’s because people are afraid they’ll blow things up.

Sooner or later, you know, fundamentalist Christians are going to pick up on this lesson, engage in similar behavior, and make similar demands. Because, apparently, it works fine.

But what about the 2nd part? Will other religious follow suit, or will Muslims stop getting special treatment?

While I agree with Mr. Reynolds that somewhere, someone claiming to be a "Christian" will do violence if they don't get their way, I don't think it will catch on. See To InstaPundit: No, they won’t [This Post Continues after the jump...]

The Mercury 13: setting the story straight

The Space Review: The Mercury 13: setting the story straight

Funny, I heard this correction to the story before I even heard the original story. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Microsoft takes on the Free World

Microsoft claims software like Linux violates its patents - May 28, 2007

I honestly don't see how one should be able to patent "WHAT" a computer does. The whole idea of a programmable computer is that it can be programed to do ANYTHING. To say that I can't program my own computer to do "task A" because you have patented the concept "task A" is silly.

It's like saying I can't use my own typewriter to type a "detective mystery novel" because you have patented the IDEA of the mystery novel. This is very different from copyrighting a specific Sherlock Holmes novel, because patenting it would prevent me from writing any book about a really smart detective and his friend that solve mysteries in 18th century London.

Back to software, at most a software patent could only patent a "specific technique" for doing "task A" and not "task A" itself. But this too can be silly. If task A is calculating the area of a rectantgle, then there is ONLY one way to do that, and it's an open source mathematic formula. To try to patent "multiply height by width" is just silly.

But can you patent something like a "drop down menu bar"? Have you invented anything? Should I not be able to write a different program that does similar things? If my menu is at the bottom of the screen and "pops up" instead of "drop down" have I violated your patent? If you patent both, but only use one in your program, should your 2nd patent be valid, when its purpose isn't to protect what you're actually selling, but just to stop competition?

Finally, if software patents are to be allowed, they're length should be very short and match the speed of change in the software world. If you do patent something, you should have a short window to make some money off of it before it becomes public domain. Nothing about the DOS or Windows 3.1 user interface should still be protected by a patent. This is stuff Jr High kids are playing with now, while learning programming, keeping it patented will stifle their innovation. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Professor seek balance in global warming debate

News - newsjournalonline.com
"I fear that attempts are being made to purposefully subvert the public understanding of the nature of science in order to achieve political goals," he wrote in an e-mail. "Science is not about consensus, and to invoke this raises the hackles of scientists such as myself. The lure of politics and publicity is no doubt seductive, but it nevertheless amazes me that so many scientists have jumped on the bandwagon of consensus science, apparently forgetting or ignoring the sad history of consensus science."

"The atmosphere is incredibly complicated, and we know very little about it," he said. "We are studying a system which is so big . . . we don't know what all the variables are."

When Al Gore and his friends say they know this all for sure and that we "MUST" act on it, I get suspicious. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

NASA unveils Hubble's successor: James Webb Space Telescopy

BBC NEWS | Americas | Nasa unveils Hubble's successor:

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is intended to replace the aging Hubble telescope.


Photo from Gizmodo [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Pope to Excommunicate Abortion Advocates

FOXNews.com - Pope Heads to Latin America Bearing Tough Messages - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

This is great. I see no reason to have an authority structure in a Church unless you are going to enforce doctrine. There should be serious consequences for advocating something a serious as abortion.

I don't know if this will change anything in Mexico, or lower the influence of the Church, but some things are worth fighting for, even if it means going down swinging. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

Reid Bryson: A Faithful Heretic of Global Warming

WECN May 2007

Reid Bryson qualifies as “the father of the science of modern climatology.” Almost 40 years ago, Bryson stood before the American Association for the Advancement of Science and presented a paper saying human activity could alter climate. He was laughed off the stage. He still believes that today, but not about CO2.

Well let me give you one fact first. In the first 30 feet of the atmosphere, on the average, outward radiation from the Earth, which is what CO2 is supposed to affect, [80 percent]of the reflected energy is absorbed by water vapor. In the first 30 feet, 80 percent...

....And how much is absorbed by carbon dioxide? Eight hundredths of one percent. One one-thousandth as important as water vapor. You can go outside and spit and have the same effect as doubling carbon dioxide.

This is great stuff.. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

In Turkey, a Looming Battle Over Islam

A very good read.. very informative.

Makes we wonder why I ever thought we could bring democracy for Iraq or the Middle east. Not that the middle east cannot be democratic, just that it has to come from within, it has to grow in the hearts and minds of the people.

I've read other things on Turkey recently and the secular nature of the government is too much for me. Banning head scarfs in government building (like France recently did in schools) seems like it would make religious people not want to participate in their own government.

But, on the other hand, groups like the Taliban can rule through social restrictions as much as through law. It can be hard to "break" a social taboo without a law requiring it. This is why it has to come from within. People have to want freedom enough to break the truly restrictive elements of Islamic law. Whether a mere head scarf is truly restrictive or not, is up the the person themselves.

In Afghanistan, some women continue to wear the burkas even though they are not required to anymore. Should we (or the Afghan government) "outlaw" burkas? I don't think so. My gut says "no", but maybe it would be necessary for a period to break the social hold the Taliban still has.

It makes one think...

In Turkey, a Looming Battle Over Islam - washingtonpost.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]

DVD-HD and some hex starting with 0x09f9...

OK, its time I weighed in on this. To me a "Secret" is not able to be copyrighted or patented. The whole idea of these protections is that it protects information that is PUBLISHED, not "secret" information. So I think I'm safe on copyright issues.

But what about "trade secret" issues? I really don't know. But I think its up to the owner to keep a secret a secret and not up the the US criminal system to punishing people that spread someone else's secret. Since I did not break the code myself, nor used it for any illegal purpose (decoding a DVD-HD disk), I don't think I'm breaking the law.

But what about "civil" courts? Again, I really don't know, but this information is already "out" and me putting it here is not going to add to their "financial loss" in any real way.

And there is a good reason to publish it. It lets people know that AACS days are numbered. If AACS can keep anyone from proving they have found a weakness, or a certain key, then they can lie to their customers and say the system isn't broken, or isn't vulnerable.

Finally, I have not put the "key" in this message, but only a link to the DIGG post. I can't refer to the Digg Blog post without using its hyperlink, and the link IS the keycode. So again, what have I don't that is "wrong"?

I guess I find out... with millions of others...

------ from DIGG ---------
Digg won't go down without a fight. Thanks Kev for changing your mind and amplifying the voices of many! Let freedom ring, or at least go out with a bang!

read more | digg story
-------------------------- [This Post Continues after the jump...]

House passes thought crimes bill

House passes hate crimes bill - Yahoo! News

Just the name "Hate Crimes" (or "thought crimes") makes my skin crawl. Making "hate" a crime is no different than making "love" a crime, and gay right activists are always saying that "love" should not be legislated, morality should not be legislated. But they forget those principles when it's convenient to.

Plus, liberals show their true colors when they refuse to add "military service" to the list. I know Vietnam vets were targets of "hate" crimes after then came home, I bet some peaceniks will target Iraq vets too. But NO!! They don't get any special protection like gays. Why not?

I'll tell you why, because even libs realize that protecting EVERY special group is no different than protecting NO special group. And we would be back to normal laws against violent crimes (regardless of the "hate" of the criminal) as we should be. [This Post Continues after the jump...]

More Bogus Kyoto History

Instapundit.com has a blurb about how Reuters is RE-writing history. I swear, environmentalist would do their cause a world of good if they would quit making up false reasons for bad treaties like Kyoto.

They also make it sound as if the US has done nothing to curb our emissions while China gets credit for reducing their population growth by forced abortions, and East Europe gets credit by using Soviet era pollution as a baseline. But no credit for the US, but no data showing if the US emissions are more or less than estimates. This lack of data is very telling.

email the author of the Reuters story to share you opinion
alister.doyle@reuters.com [This Post Continues after the jump...]