If you can see this post, then the DNS has updated and you have found out new server home. Get comfy and enjoy.
We opted to move to 1and1 Hosting and move away from IMHosted.
We had taken to calling them IMHozed because their 99% uptime guarantee was a joke. I’ve had so much contact with their customer service, I’m on a first name basis with a few of them. So off to 1 and 1 we went. From the looks of it, we can expect wonderful quality.
The Boston Globe has just reported that Republican staff members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee broke into Democratic computer files for a year, monitoring secret strategy memos and periodically passing on copies to the media.
With the help of forensic computer experts from General Dynamics and the US Secret Service, his office has interviewed about 120 people to date and seized more than half a dozen computers — including four Judiciary servers, one server from the office of Senate majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, and several desktop hard drives.
Democrats now claim their private memos formed the basis for a February 2003 column by conservative pundit Robert Novak that revealed plans pushed by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, to filibuster certain judicial nominees. Novak is also at the center of an investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA agent whose husband contradicted a Bush administration claim about Iraqi nuclear programs.
Citing “internal Senate sources,” Novak’s column described closed-door Democratic meetings about how to handle nominees.
Not only is this a violation of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), it should lead to criminal charges for those involved. That is if the weak Democrats don’t roll over, again.
This is the Watergate of the digital age: RepubliGate, CyberGate, DigiGate, ElectionGate, JudgeGate, HackerGate, DonkeyGate, Ph33rGate, iD10TGate, BushGate, SenateGate… StupidGate. Call it want you want, but Democrats should latch onto this and make it their central issue for the next few months.
But honestly, why press charges? That just complicates the matter overall. Just round up the suspects and send them to GITMO with no representation, trails, or ability to talk to anyone. Since the last round of detainee’s at GITMO only had to be Arab, then let’s just round up Republicans — any Republicans — and introduce them to the 5 x 5 boxes at GITMO.
Last night in his State of the Union Speech, President Bush said, “I propose larger Pell grants for students who prepare for college with demanding courses in high school.” [01/20/04]
A little more than three years ago, the same Bush said, “I am going to ask Congress to bolster the first year aid from thirty-three hundred dollars to five thousand one hundred dollars per recipient of the Pell Grant.” [08/30/00]
Two promises. Three years apart. Each about increasing Pell Grants. If the first promise had been kept, why would we need a second promise? Because the first promise was, in fact, not kept. What’s worse is that the first promise was not only not kept, it was buried under the basement floor and covered with concrete like some awful family secret. Let’s review. Bush’s budget for 2001 included a proposal to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to only $3,850, not the $5,100 he promised. And he opposed the ultimately successful Congressional effort to increase maximum Pell Grant awards to its current $4,000 level.
Yet here he is three years later again proposing larger Pell grants, as if he’s finally remembering the promise he failed to keep. And what makes it worse is that he apparently isn’t proposing across-the-board Pell grant increases, which is what he did in 2000. This time, possibly to make it easier to keep a promise, he is limiting his proposal to increasing Pell grants “for students who prepare for college with demanding courses in high school.”
So, unless they take “demanding courses in high school,” certain students will become yet another portion of those being left behind. They’ll be left behind because if they get only an average Pell grant, they will have only enough to cover 40 percent of average fixed costs (tuition and fees, room and board) at four-year public colleges and 15 percent at four-year private colleges.
They’ll be left behind because many inner city and rural high schools don’t have the funding to offer the college preparatory classes that would put their students in line for higher Pell grants. They’ll be left behind because the President himself proposed a 2002 budget that cut initiatives in The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act by a net total of $90 million.
They’ll be left behind because President Bush’s 2003 budget proposed eliminating the Leveraging Education Assistance Partnerships program, which provided $171 million to low-income students in 2002. They’ll be left behind because NCLB gives schools who don’t meet the requirements to receive federal funds a reason to lower their testing standards, push out students who bring down the school’s average score, or opt out of receiving federal funds all together.
And they’ll be left behind because a good idea not completed and/or badly implemented is like a Lamborghini without an engine. Sure it looks good on the outside, but it ain’t gonna get you far.
Tonight President Bush will use a State of the Union speech to push his election-year domestic agenda and defend the war in Iraq. Sources say Mr. Bush will try to pepper his 2004 speech with almost as many lies as last year’s.
Entrenched in character assassination, the Bush White house is going after Paul O’Neill for all it’s worth. O’Neill, who has served under 3 republican administrations and is the best friend of Vice President Dick Cheney, is now feeling the venom of the Republican smear machine.
But O’Neill may have leaked a document classified as “Secret,” you say. Shouldn’t that be investigated?
As soon as that document was shown on 60 Minutes (do people still watch that show?), current Treasury Secretary John William Snow called for an investigation. Yet when news surfaced that someone inside the top staff of the White House leaked the name of an undercover CIA field officer, a felony under federal law, to newspaper columnist Robert Novak, it took the White House 79 days to call for an investigation.
So why the over-the-top reaction that President Bush was hunting for a reason, any reason, to invade Iraq?
Was it because the document was classified? If the document is so secret, why was it posted on Judicial Watch for such a long time with no investigation?
Oh look, another link to the “secret” document. Maybe we’ll get investigated now, too.
I don’t know what I’m more disgusted with. The Republican machine that is so ready to cut off its own arm by burying one of its own life long and devoted members, or O’Neill himself for acting like he has no common sense about the whole thing.
He has since tried to back track on his own words by doing what all Republicans eventually do — blame Clinton. O’Neill, going back on what he said previously, said that the meetings were nothing more, “than a review of Clinton’s Iraqi policy of regime change.” Too late, Paul, too late.
Mr. O’Neill, whether you see it or not the raging river is against you. Try as you might there is no paddling against that mighty torrent. It can’t be changed by going back on your words.
Sadly, it’s another page in the Republican’s book of tricks to try to keep people from speaking against the Republican armada. Quite a switch from the Clinton days, when some of the strongest rebukes of Clinton’s abhorrent personal behavior were from Democrats themselves — without fear of retribution.
“None of us that wear this uniform are free to say anything disparaging about the secretary of defense, or the president of the United States. Whatever action may be taken, whether it’s a verbal reprimand or something more stringent, is up to the commanders on the scene.”
- Gen. John Abizaid, commenting after soldiers in Iraq criticized the Bush Administration for misleading them, 7/16/03
What we are seeing is worse than open war. It’s the covert kidnapping of a person’s right of free speech. And there is one thing a President should never be protected from — the citizen’s First Amendment right.
The rumors certainly swirl around Outkast and their breakup, almost as many rumors swirl around Saddam and his capture. So, why wouldn’t Saddam create a demo tape as a tryout to help the Outkast fellas.
I heard rumors. I heard secrets. Then it was revealed and I heard booing.
Apple released their iPod Mini at the MacWorld conference. I was eagerly anticipating this as I really don’t need 40gb or even 15gb of tunes with me at all times. I don’t need to be able to have a soundtrack for every passing minute like some damn John Hughes flick. I just want something to play through my lunch hour or during my 30-minute commute. A few tunes to block out the monotony of the modern existence.
So, I was pumped, not Ahh-nold pumped, but pumped, about the smaller and presumably cheaper iPod Mini. Not to mention that I figured some software and design enhancements would be in order. Why then would I be disappointed when the rainbow of diminutive deliciousness was revealed? The price, for one.
The 4gb iPod Mini is priced at $249.99. That’s absolutely ridiculous when the 15gb original iPod is only $299.99. Only the Apple nuts are going to buy this thing. Well, them and the hipsters with a trust fund.
Then I saw that they come in all sorts of “deck” new shades straight out of The Gap’s catalog. So, I say concentrate less on the colors and let’s bring the price down some. Tell those overpaid gadget geeks in the back to figure out how to drop a Benjamin off the price instead of testing the pearlescent finish.
Thirdly, they changed the buttons, again. They’re changing the damned thing more often than Estelle Getty’s underwear at an Olestra convention. Leave well enough alone you horrible, freakish shut-ins. Tell Jobs to shove it up his ass.
Lastly, iPod Mini is such a terrbile name. Because in six months they’ll make a smaller one andwhat will it be called? Nano? The idiots at Apple want everything to sound huggable and friendly and they insist on that “i” shit. How presumptuous is it to think that and package of software would encompass my entire “iLife?” Well, it is for Mac fans, so maybe the shoe fits.
There was so much promise after OS X came out, but everything released since then has sucked the hind teat. The other big announcements at MacWorld (Xserve G5 and GarageBand) seem very cool, but that’s overshadowed by the “anal leakage” that is the iPod Mini.
In the ever-escalating battle between the digital music fans and those who create the tunes, an interesting development has occurred. A site called Music Rebellion is selling songs for as little as 10 cents each.
The interesting piece comes in that as more people buy that song, the price goes up. So, in a direct correlation such as we haven’t seen since Econ 101, demand creates a higher price. This means that the market does truly determine the value of the product.
I believe that Amazon has been doing similar types of things for years, but never in such an open and direct manner. The frankness and the sheer cool factor may mean that this idea will stick with the digital download mania that has gripped the likes of Real, Apple, Microsoft, and even Walmart. Smart ideas like this, that give value and interest to the consumer may just save the music industry.
Honestly, I download a lot of music, and I buy a lot of music, and it’s something like this that might make me go more legit. Of course, I’m not sure how this is going to compare to Russian sites like AllofMP3 where I can buy a full album at super-high quality for $5.99, and it’s perfectly legal.
As a sidenote, since when did buying single songs become the de facto standard. I only want full albums. Show me a site that focuses on the full album buyer and I may be sold.
Combine the dynamic pricing, an eye towards the global market of the internet, and full album focus and I would be a happy customer.
It’s a leap of faith, but Bush has decided to send men back to the moon. It’s a great idea at a time when faith in our country is flagging despite ever-increasing outward signs of patriotism.
This new-found adoration of space flight got me thinking and so I have posted a new column about How We can Go To Mars Right Now. Please check out and let us know what you think. You can comment directly below the column or join our forums for an easier and more extended conversation.
The holidays have ended. And whatever your religion, we are all now safely into the next year, wondering how we will remain sane enough to make it to our next set of day’s off from work, while trying to figure out how to loose the weight we have added to our backsides.
Gone, like the leaves of the trees and Britney Spear’s 36-hour marriage, are the sale signs and the plethora of commercials shilling product after product. But we oft overlook the true meaning and practice of the holidays — being jammed together with family, extended and otherwise, for far too long in spaces far too small acting like you are joining in merry cheer as a result of your shared genes from two people whom likely started this branch of the mangled family tree in a drunken revelry.
I am constantly reminding myself the advice my wife presented before we left the house that morning: “Don’t let them get under your skin, and please don’t egg them on.” She knows my threshold level and humor all too well.
As we enter, the conversations have already begun. Conversations in these settings always fall into two categories. The first are those that are trying to impress the greater group in some way, and the second are those that clearly don’t care about impressing anyone or are oblivious to what words are coming from their mouths.
It begins almost immediately. After jettisoning my jacket, I noticed the very well prepared table, which looks like all of Gryffindor could feed, with elbowroom to spare.
“Nice wine choice,” I say to those nearby, which draws a brief stare from a cousin. I tap my index finger on the bottle as an added crescendo to my words.
“Oh, you prefer table wine…” she says, almost like a question but not quite. The words leapt in the air like an admission on her behalf that I am not fit to be in the same caste.
“Well, you know,” I have to retort in my own way, “no matter what you pay for it, in the end it’s all toilet pee.” I make sure to utilize her same emphasis.
The half smile and headshake from my wife tells the story; it’s only been 10 seconds and I’m already at it. The game has started earlier than usual. Why pull up now, since I have gotten such a good, running start? Time for the TV room.
As I enter the chamber of surround sound goodness, stuffed with men and lite beer, I realize quite quickly I have walked in on a somewhat heated debate over reality television and its impact on society. Or more accurately, the during-the-commercial-display-of-narrow-mindedness.
“How would you like that, Mark?” another relative puts me on the spot, “how would you like it if a buncha queers came to your house and told you how to dress and cook a fancy-schmancy meal for your wife?”
My liberalism roars into action. I let it run let it run free and fast like bourbon at a Bush fundraiser.
“Actually,” I begin, “that sounds great.” I hesitated jamming my pointed finger up in the air like Tony the Tiger extolling his cereal.
“Why shouldn’t a man,” I keep going, “from time-to-time, increase his wardrobe above the Tim Couch jersey’s you like to wear, and learn how to cook more than just homophobia in order to impress his lady?”
He glares at me, not quite sure if I made a point or insulted him. Before he realizes I did both at the same time, I add in the guy catchall phase, “…because it might lead to great sex.” At which point he nods with guy-style understanding.
Therein lies the mastery. Insulting someone and turning the phase before they can comprehend what you did, then getting them to agree with you. Class was in session and that day I was a Ph.D.
Feeling satisfied I exit the room for a break. Time to brave the blustery Ohio winter winds for a smoke.
Evidently my non-table wine drinking cousin had the same idea. She followed me outside wearing her leather and fur coat. She made a particular point to pull out her gold cigarette carrying case complete with engraved initials and tapping the filtered end on the cover like it was a Lego-sized jackhammer. I can’t resist. It’s chum in the water and this shark is hungry.
“Oh, you smoke Camels…” making it clear that my caste prefers other, more pompous types of tobacco. I take a long draw from my Thompson Cameroon Lonsdale cigar, with a boyish satisfaction that I have felled stark class-ism with a shot of my own, as hallow as it may be.
“Odd,” I add, “that you would take the time to put those in a gold carrying case.”
“What does it matter?” she snips with a lip curl. “In the end it will probably give us both cancer.”
Interesting tactic she has employed. As my toilet pee to her wine remark, she has used the same deployment to turn my comment against me. I measure up the battlefield and mobilize my next weapon. And just when she thought she had the upper hand.
“Not so,” I answer, “Cigar smokers don’t inhale. There is a difference between enjoyment and succumbing to a corporate driven addiction sold and marketed to the masses via cartoon characters.”
She drops her hand away from her face, either in disgust or from muscle fatigue from holding up all that jewelry.
I tilt my head back and watch the smoke waif into the sky. Maybe I do like family holiday gatherings after all.