Check out these hauntingly amazing photos from the recent California wildfires.
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Care to know yours? Answer a few questions here to find out. I got a 14, and “if everyone lived like [me], we would need 3.2 planets.” Ouch.
Now, I’m no expert in anti-trust legal affairs, but doesn’t the cell phone industry with their exclusive contracts and back room deals smell of monopoly-esque activity? Like, for instance, Apple and AT&T’s exclusive deal for the wireless carrier to be the sole provider of service for the iPhone. Isn’t that akin to Ford or GM saying only BP or Mobile gasoline will run their cars? That sad thing, though, is we’ve come to accept these exclusive wireless deals. But why?
Macnn.com ran an article on this topic a couple days ago:
Lashing out at the wireless carrier cadre, Walt Mossberg says that the United States federal government has been duped into allowing AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and others to lock consumers into terms unprecedented by any other industry.The problem lies in two areas: the US government did not set up a wireless standard when it needed to a few years ago, so there are two competing networks: CDMA and GSM. This means that switching to a new provider often requires a new, compatible phone. Second, the government allows the GSM carriers to ‘lock’ their phones, “so a SIM card from a rival carrier won’t work in them, at least for a period of time.”
Mossberg argues that lifting these restrictions and standardizing the network would result in cheaper, unsubsidized phones and the elimination of draconian contract cancellation fees.
I want to see if John Edwards will say to Hillary Clinton in front of everyone: “You’re not electable, and you know it, and you’re going to hurt people down the ballot.” It’s time to stop whispering. It’s getting to be midnight.
—Democratic strategist Donna Brazille
Edwards or not, someone high up in the Dem party needs to say it.
(Nod: Political Wire)
Just like every other year, Cleveland sports fans are left saying to each other “maybe next year.” The Indians were up in the series against the Red Sox three games to one. All the Indians had to do was win one more game. And they were given 3 chances to do so since the Red Sox forced game seven. Of course, like a true Cleveland sports team, the Indians choked and were outscored in the last three games five runs to the Red Sox’s thirty. Absolutely embarrassing. I was hoping for a Indians/Diamondbacks World Series, and now I have neither the Indians nor the Diamondbacks in the World Series.
Thanks, though, for a great season, Cleveland.
Here’s to next year….
This is easily the coolest rendition I’ve seen of the popular spot-the-differences game, which tasks you to locate the differences between two seemingly identical pictures.
A quick look at the numbers for environmental programs in Bush’s FY2008 budget:
- 90% of the Department of Energy’s funding increase is directed toward research in fossil fuels and nuclear power, rather than towards developing new renewable and efficient technologies.
- $400 million cut from the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, dropping it to its lowest level in nearly 10 years. This includes cutting EPA’s clean air and climate funding by $22 million, and a 12% ($6 million) cut to the popular Energy Star program.
(Nod: ThinkProgress)
In response to this ad:
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said this:
As with MoveOn’s slanderous attacks on General David Petraeus, the new ads are so misleading and disgusting they have no place in our nation’s political discourse.I call on all Members of Congress to join me in condemning this pathetic, misleading action by MoveOn.org, regardless of their views on the best way to extend the life of the valuable SCHIP program.
Pathetic and misleading, huh? What about the president’s lies about the legislation? Those aren’t condemnation worthy?
(Nod: The Carpetbagger Report)
Watching the Indians/Red Sox game, just a quick comment. Every time Red Sox player Manny Ramirez hits a home run or a ball that looks like it’s going to be a home run, he walks out of the batter’s box and gloats his way to first base. Well tonight he almost learned his lesson.
The ball he hit bounced off the top of the center field wall and ricocheted back into play. What should have been an RBI double was only an RBI single. David Ortiz went from first base and scored. What did Manny do? He only made it to first base. Why? Because he’s a cocky jackass and decided to gloat instead of actually play the game. The TV commentators said it was “ridiculous” of him.
The move didn’t cost the Red Sox anything since the next guy got out anyway, but this could have been a devastating mistake had the inning continued. Someone in the Red Sox locker room needs to slap this moron around.
…for placing a hold on the Senate Democrats’ plans to cave in to the president and give telecom companies immunity for spying on Americans.
Since when are there sides to take when dealing with children’s health? Either you’re for or against making kids healthy? Well, according to White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, there are, in fact, sides to take. After the House voted to sustain President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP legislation, she had this to say:
We won this round
on SCHIP.
Won? What exactly did the White House win? We know, though, that 10 million kids are the losers, that’s for sure.
The president’s veto earlier this month was completely unfounded. He didn’t have the facts straight then, and he still doesn’t. Be against a bill, but don’t lie and make up falsities about the bill.
One of most egregious canards being propogated by the White House about the SCHIP expansion is that it will provide health insurance for the wealthy. President Bush claimed at a press conference last week that Congress “made a decision to expand the eligibility up to $80,000.” He repeated it in his [September 22] radio address:
BUSH: Their proposal would result in taking a program meant to help poor children and turning it into one that covers children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 a year.
And the White House echoed the false talking point today in its official veto message to Congress:
[T]he current bill goes too far toward federalizing health care and turns a program meant to help low-income children into one that covers children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 a year. If H.R. 976 were presented to the President in its current form, he would veto the bill.
However, no such proposal exists. The $83,000 figure comes from a request from New York to cover children in some slightly higher-income households because of the state’s high cost of living, but the final Congressional agreement put the poorest children “first in line” for benefits.
More fact-checking here.
The president can’t defeat the bill on the bill’s merits alone. Instead, he has to make things up and then argue against the bill with lies. Well done, Mr. Compassionate Conservative. The best thing Congress can do is pass this bill every month and let the president veto it again and again to really make the president and other Congressional Republicans look like the ridiculous mess they’ve made themselves to be.
On Monday, Drew Carey began his new job as host of The Price Is Right, taking over from Bob Barker, TV legend. Given the enormous challenge, Drew did an adequate job, but certainly nothing spectacular.
While watching the show, I jotted down a few notes. Here they are.
- The new set design looks good. A little more coherent and cohesive than the old design, but still firmly stuck in the 70s.
- There was a new music arrangement of the theme at the beginning and end of the show and whenever the audience was shown while going in and out of commercial breaks.
- And speaking of commercials, everyone should be pleased to note that a majority are still are tailored to 80-year-olds.
- Drew was most definitely nervous. He continuously played with the little flaps of fabric that cover his two side pockets in his suit jacket. But who wouldn’t be nervous taking over this role? It was reassuring to see a big, confident Hollywood-type visibly nervous. They’re regular people after all.
- Drew, like Bob, uses a stick microphone, but Drew’s doesn’t have a cord like Bob’s did. Just not the same.
- Both times the game prize was a car, Drew began asking where the contestant came from and then said “maybe you’ll be driving home” before Rich Fields did his “A NEW CAR!!!” line. Drew’s saying that, I think, steals some thunder from that famous, surprise-inducing line. I hope he stops that.
- And during the game “One Away,” where the contestant must rotate numbers to guess the correct price of the car to win it, the line the contestant asked to verify how many numbers were correct used to be “Ladies, do I have X numbers right?”. For whatever reason, it was changed on Monday to “Oh mighty sound effects person, do I have X numbers right?” What was wrong with the ladies?
One other new thing was an updated logo. The type didn’t change as far as I can tell, but two shapes were added to the background. These new shapes give the logo a greater sense of coherency. Well done.
Give Drew some time and see if he grows into the role. That’s what I plan on doing. But after the first show, he left a wrong price impression. Too much chit-chat and not enough classy swooning. I’m sure as he becomes more comfortable in the role, he’ll find his groove, and I hope he does. He’s still no Bob Barker, though.
One final thought I was left with: after now 36 years on the air, how many miles has the Big Wheel gone around?
(Photos: cbs.com)
An Oscar. An Emmy. And now something new. Congratulations to Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore. Perhaps he can keep his prize in his lockbox.
I went back to Ohio last weekend for my cousin’s wedding, and while standing in the line for security in the Cleveland airport, I realized how well we as humans are socialized to follow rules and, literally in this case, stay in line.
The line to move through security screening at the Cleveland airport, like most airports I assume, has a line for first class and a line for everyone else. The line for the common-folk, naturally, snakes around ten times or so, and the wait is around twenty minutes. Then there is the “elite” line which goes around the edges of our line, bypassing all the snaking and the wait altogether. While the common-folk line is jammed-pack, the elite line is empty, saved for the occasional “special” person every few minutes.
The part about our socialization process enters here. Common sense would dictate that all of us in the common-folk line are fools for waiting in this line and not jumping into the empty express line. But our socialization process dictates otherwise. Because we’re taught to follow the rules, stay in line, and obey the authority figures, we simply do as we’re told and stay in the common-folk line. There is nothing stopping any of us from getting into the elite line — no barriers, no special ticket screening at the entrance of the line. At any point, any one of us could have simply moved under the railing and gone into the elite line. And had we done that, would the TSA agents checking our boarding passes and IDs said, “hey wait a minute, you aren’t first class — go back to the end of the line you belong in and wait”? No, they would have likely just passed us through like normal without questioning why we came from the first class line without a first class ticket.
Yet no one did this. Why is that? Why do we not disobey the rules when there is no apparent consequence for breaking the rules? Why do we still stay in line even when there is apparent reward for not staying in line? This is a very curious human socialization process question. Think about this next time you’re waiting at the airport.
So I received my iPod Touch this morning, and I’m actually typing this post from my iPod! I’ve only played with it for about twenty minutes, but I think it’s awesome so far!
More evidence that the war in Afghanistan, the original front in the War on Terror where our top target still is hiding out, is becoming the forgotten war by this administration.
A senior House Democrat said Gates told the group the U.S. focus on Iraq was hurting the effort in Afghanistan. Gates said that while the multinational force has held the Taliban at bay, it hasn’t defeated the insurgents, according to the lawmaker, who requested anonymity. Two additional Democrats also said Gates linked the U.S. commitment in Iraq to shortfalls in Afghanistan.
And yet, this administration is seriously considering starting a THIRD war, this time with Iran. Perhaps the president’s plan is indeed to start withdrawing troops from Iraq… by sending them to Iran instead.