YellowLinesandArmadillos

Yeh, I know a few of them between the ultra right and them, they are some of the biggest hypocrites I know.

If that is true and I wouldn't doubt it, it sounds typical.

Should be a new topic.

Interesting topic, now that I better understand the issue of "net neutrality" and remember previous news reports about the issue, it is not all that complicated a general issue. The devil appears in the details. As it pertains to the campaigns the Blue's statement about the intellectually honest approach would be to explain net neutrality and go from there... true, but it wouldn't provoke a discussion like this and then net neutrality could largely be ignored. It is about McCain not using a computer, kind of like the argument since Obama was never in the military how can he know what that is all about? It plays as a campaign factor... Here is excepts from a recent speech from FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein and ardent defender of net neutrality. It gives a simple explanation of the need for net neutrality: Remarks of Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein National Conference for Media Reform Minneapolis, Minnesota June 8, 2008 Last night, Dan Rather validated all of our deepest concerns and worst fears about how corporate media has abandoned its sense of responsibility. To make a buck, they are transforming real journalism into infotainment. To hear it from a legend, with decades of experience at the pinnacle of the American news establishment – who has seen it firsthand – will be a wake-up call for everyone in this country who cares about the future of our democracy. It also was a special treat having Senator Dorgan here. He has been our champion on media democracy and Internet freedom in the U.S. Senate. When we met last year in Memphis, I told you that if the FCC rolled back media ownership protections, Congress needed to veto it. We are so grateful Senator Byron Dorgan led the Senate effort to kill the FCC’s misguided decision to gut the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule. Now, it is time for the House of Representatives to act and send it to the President’s desk. Even in the event he does not sign it, we have already sent a clear message to any media company thinking of gobbling up newspapers and TV stations in the same city: think again. The winds of change are blowing, and they are going to blow that rule right off the books. … We must open our airwaves to low-power FM stations and minority voices, restore public interest obligations on broadcasters, and protect public access channels on cable that are under siege today. We have got to make broadband affordable and accessible to everyone, even if that means building municipal broadband networks. And, we have got to keep the Internet open and free of discrimination. We cannot let what happened to our media happen to the Internet. We cannot allow a few gatekeepers to control the Internet so they can maximize profits in the service of advertisers. We need to keep the Internet -- of the people, by the people and for the people. “P2P” -- is power to the people. We need to protect that. Just as broadband explodes our ability to communicate and get information, though, we find our government still trying to sneak one past us. Old habits die hard. We have learned about a secretive public relations program operated by the U.S. Defense Department. It recruited, organized and sometimes paid more than 75 retired military analysts to echo the Administration’s themes and messages on the Iraq war and foreign policy. Many of these so-called analysts also worked for military contractors or owned their own military consulting firms. They were granted valuable special access to senior civilian and military leaders, in exchange for their participation in this covert, propaganda operation…. You are the wind in the sails for those of us in Washington who fight for freedom of the press and on the Internet. Thank you for making the voice of the people – the public interest – heard at the FCC.

Now that would be worthwhile info for a President and a presidential campaign!

Over negative 400 at one point, now at -350... not good, not -500 but not good.

At least he would be engaged in something and he might just find out something other than what is being "silver" spoon fed him.

Ah, the old chew gum but can't walk syndrom

Can't argue the later part of you post, nor the beginning point. I am just out of touch!

Maybe, but I know quite a few Senators and Congressmen who are glued to their crackberries. Obviously, not McCain.

I think there is risk here, but you would be surprised at how many 70-80 year olds in retirement that are very adept at the internet like my folks. It is one of the things they can do to keep in touch with each other when they can't get around so well.

Gibson Interview, apparently the whole thing unedited is out there on the web. ABC put it up. Here is a link to there site http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5793131

Finally a bite from the other side, and that is what Hemmer's response should have been instead of making excuses. Agreed, even if it is not all true.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8091401975.html

He doesn't even need to be able to do that with voice recognition software that now comes standard with Windows Vista and Apple software.

Agreed, the problem is and was that the government should have stepped in 4-8 years ago on these loans. Now is too late. Greed from the financial sector and uncontrolled growth from a political point of view allowed this to happen. No one had enough #@$%@#$% to step up when things appeared to good to be true and put their foot down. This starts at the top and I begin with the Bush admin, but there is plenty of blame to go around.

I agree that Charles Gibson looked bad in this one, but McCain and she havwe tried to tout her international issues experience as enough of which she has very little and spent very little time on. She did not acknowledge that. A more effective response could have been that "I am a quick study, I bring hard work, depend on knowledgeable people and rely on sound judgment of how to proceed on complicated issues. Then she could have made it a character issue.

Because as we saw in the last $400 billion give away to drug companies during medicare reform all anyone got was wasted tax payer money, increases in prices and very little new benefits. So unless you require it, it will only come back to haunt us and we as tax payers will be forking out more money to cover those that don't have coverage who show up at emergency rooms instead of their doctor or some clinic for some basic preventative medicine that could have avoided a more extensive problem. If it is a targeted tax cut for the insuree for health care costs and it could reimburse states as well, I am all for it. Otherwise, such a tax cut does little for me right now. I have enough write-offs with where the stock market, the real-estate market and my business goes. I could use some state tax relief, because as Bush has cut taxes, states have raised them.

Nice reply, I don't think it makes your argument, but I do think that she has enough sense to avoid direct questions that she has no clue how to answer.

Here is the new ad. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology...-slams-mcc.html Fox's bill Hemmer tried to state the McCain could not use a computer or email because of his war wounds and his age. Now I think Hemmer is out of touch. Two things, even though McCain has those issues, plenty of disabled people are using computers now with voice recognition and even McCain doesn't give that excuse. He said he is starting to learn. My Mom, who is 70 with peripheral neuropothy due to post polio-syndrom emails me all the time, though often she can barely feel the key board sometimes. She still uses the computer, uploads and downloads photos and prints them of her grandchildren. The is plenty of software out there for McCain to use that can help him with his physical limitations and the software has been out there for quite sometime. One can draw their own conclusions for why he doesn't know how to use a computer, but it obviously has not been a big priority nor has realized the significance of it. It is almost like learning to read and write in today's day and age. Hemmer and the McCain camp using his physical handicap as an excuse does a disservice and is insulting to McCain that I am not sure even he would agree with.

Nice post, and generally I agree with your assumption of taxes on business except when you get into multi-nationals where taxes don't apply. The real problem as a small business start up that I find is not on the Fed level, but the state and local level. There are so many nickle and dime taxes in NY state and county that I wonder why anyone runs a business in NY unless it generating ridiculous amounts of revenue. Then at those levels the Feds may become a problem, but if properly managed mostly corporation can limit their tax liabilities well below the going rates. And there in lies the problem. There is a lack of transparency on all ends that distorts business. Government raises rates to deal with corporate loop holes, business look for opportunities to declare revenue or expenditures where it will do them the most good to maximize profits. If taxes both state and local were uniform across the board and state and local lines it would be much more efficient. That said, it will never happen. Businesses will never give up their advantages and locals will never give up having the control with their hand in the till. Not sure how to reform it, but it has to happen all three layers of government without creating any great losses in revenue for any of the parties. The resulting perceived power loss will be just as difficult to overcome and I just can't see it occurring.

Nice highlight, ESPN is advertising to nominate it for the best play, scholarship money available. Link didn't work though, not sure why?

I have to admit, I am rather envious.

It is becoming quite apparent that Palin is a well spoken idiot. P.S. I heard the teleprompters were working fine during he speech. Must have been the glasses. Maybe we should start calling her Mrs. McGoo.

Oh I suppose I should, but he reminds me of the guy who called up one of the offices I worked for one day demanding the Congressman push to remove the United States from the UN and get the headquarters out of the US. I responded by telling him that we use the UN when it suits our purposes and ignore it the rest of the time. Furthermore, having it in NYC allows us to keep an eye one what is going on in these small countries that like to spout off there. His response was, hmmm, I never thought of that. He will probably never admit on this board, but he is getting a lesson in what this world is all about outside of that rock under which he lives. Plus it is too much fun knocking down his warped ill informed logic. But I should probably give it a rest, not worth it anymore.