Pay Attention

Here are some links to issues related to the political effort to restrict open web access. From what I can tell this is basically a move by the large bitpipe operators to make more money on their networks. I think the result would be to squeeze non-commercial content (commentary, opinions, individually created media, etc.) off of the web. Anyway - here are a bunch of links (Sorry, I guess I'm not smart enough to make the links live - but you can copy them to your browser): Key links: * MoveOn petition (please include prominently) - every person who signs will get future actions they can take to keep the heat on Congress: http://civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/ * Call Congress today: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1670 * Original MoveOn email describing the issue: http://civic.moveon.org/alerts/savetheinternet.html * How gutting Net Neutrality affects regular people (Ipod users, Google users), and proof that telecom companies abuse their power: http://www.savetheinternet.com/=threat * Our coalition MySpace profile – including a video explaining this issue (please include): http://www.myspace.com/savetheinternet * Coalition website (please include – mentioning our partners Gun Owners of America and Craig from Craigslist): www.savetheinternet.com * Coalition blog – good recent developments: http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/ * A key committee is voting this week. Click here to see if your Representative is on this committee: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1672 * Find out where your Member stands: http://www.savetheinternet.com/=map * Good articles on coalition kick-off: "Gun Owners, Librarians Unite Against Bells," Telephony Online, April 24, 2006 http://www.freepress.net/news/15113

Something Worth Stopping

Department of Offense

We should just rename the Department of Defense and call it what it is and what it has been. We invaded Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Central America, Grenada, Afghanistan, Iraq and who knows where else via proxy (Indonesia, Bosnia and Palestine come to mind). But enough of that. Now the government is talking about the judicious use of a pre-emptive strike anywhere in the world (Iran comes to mind). The Department of Defense isn't "Defending" us from anyone; It is proactively decimating the parts of the world that have economic or bullshit anticommunist/leftist governments that we can propogandize as "them" and crank up the industrial machine to destroy. It is a wonder that 9/11 only happened once. This insanity has to change. We have the wherewithal (wealth) and institutions to be the shining light to the world and this (and a long line of) adminstration(s) will succeed in squandering it all. Throw them all out.

Disconnection of the Heart

If you're expecting something poetic here, forget it. Ever since the replacement of my natural-born aortic valve with a pig-one, the electrical connection between my brain and my heart is just gone. This is the strangest thing in the world. I can feel like my heart is going to blow out of my chest when I walk upstairs for a glass of water or I can blast up the coast hills on my bike 30 miles into a ride and believe I could pull the world to the moon -- go figure. When the "specialists" mess with you, that's exactly what they're doing - they don't know.

Iraq/Afganistan and Vietnam

I am reading, "Manufacturing Consent" by Herman and Chomsky and while the media coverage parallels are striking, the political/war management similarities are frightening. Iraq and Afganistan are lost and we, the American People need to accept this, force triage and replace the idiot politicians who did this to our country. I am just really becoming politically aware, perhaps it comes with age and experience, and this is really the second major war of my lifetime (Grenada and Gulf #1 don't count). In that vein, and despite the fact that W had some trouble articulating the following - "fool me once, shame on you" - "fool me twice, shame on me". I won't sit still for these assholes to continue this or do it again and I don't think I am alone.

Crashing the Gate

I read Kos' book last weekend. It was a fun read hitting a midpoint somewhere between Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky. Definitely a book written in the blogging style. The great thing is the concepts can probably be outlined in 2 pages of bullet points for a new Democratic playbook. I still remain unconvinced that either of the established political parties can get anything meaningful done. My personal (who the F*** asked me?) opinion is that real change will only be driven by a populist progressive ("netroots"?) movement. Read A NEW THIRD PARTY which can "embrace, assimilate and extend" probably the "Democratic Wing" of the Democratic party. This is nothing more than applying Bill Gate's business philosophy to politics -- except that we wouldn't start out with an operating system monopoly.

UN Human Rights Council

Today in the NYT an article about how the US is bowing out of running for inclusion in the new US Human Rights Council preferring instead to "run for a seat next year". The masterful John Bolton opines that "our leverage in terms of the new council is greater by the US not running ..". This, as opposed to the fact that we might not be elected to the Council given our appalling human rights record. Christ, we even voted (along with political heavyweights Palau and the Marshall Islands) not to establish the new council. It probably would have been better to just keep the former Human Rights Commission - perhaps HRC members Sudan and Zimbabwe could teach the US a thing or two about human rights.

The Bug with Personality

The other day, very early in the morning, a storm blew in and was really knocking stuff outside around. About 3 AM I woke up and I walked around to make sure everything seemed to be where it was supposed to be (the garbage cans had wandered out into the yard). As I went through a downstairs hallway I could see a black beetle, maybe the size of a nickel, motoring away from the front door towards me (no doubt after having the crap scared out of himself outside). I ducked into the kitchen and grabbed a paper towel to pick the bug up and take it outside. As I came back into the hallway this little guy saw me and jumped up like a little person and made this comical beeline back to the front door. I just started laughing - it was like the "keystone cops beetle" or something. I got him - and took him out the back. These things are smarter than we give them credit -- but Insecta with personality??