Impromptu Art For A Monday

Back in early October, I was doing some survey work to see just how things were progressing in the cleanup of the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.  At one of the local campgrounds, someone mentioned this – it had been left by some campers – and it’s just a remarkable little bit of impromptu artwork – a minature “camp in the woods.”  Enjoy!

Things I Learned From South Carolina

The primary there is now over, except for the counting, and it’s been an … educational … past week or so.   After watching the back and forth with the polls, as well as the reports from the campaign stops and debates, I’ve come away with some impressions about the Republican Party as it stands today.

More thoughts on Piracy

It appears that for now, SOPA and PIPA are dead.  The word “postponed” is used:

Sure, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) used the word “postponed” in their announcements, saying that Congress would only take a breather, but would certainly not give up for good on its goal of passing some sort of legislation designed to combat overseas “rogue” websites hosting pirated American content.

But for all intents and purposes, the bills are dead.  At least for now. But that doesn’t mean that “some sort of legislation” will not be as bad, or equally as bad.  This has been an ongoing battle for almost 15 years now, and it isn’t going to go away.

SOPA and PIPA – Bogus Assumptions And Lousy Law

My Congressman is a sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act.  This is a great disappointment to me, and I absolutely did let him (and both Senators) know that.  This was in one of his responses:

As you may know, countless foreign rogue websites steal and sell American intellectual property by counterfeiting trademarked goods and pirating copyrighted materials. Unsuspecting consumers are tricked by these foreign rogue websites into buying counterfeit products like fake prescription drugs and car parts, or illicit copies of software, music, movies and books. The result is more than $135 billion in revenue lost annually by legitimate American businesses  through foreign websites that keep profits for themselves , do not pay taxes ,  do not adhere to manufacturing or public health standard s that harm American consumers,  and steal American jobs and hinder innovation during trying economic times. Further, these foreign rogue websites also put American customers at risk for identity theft, credit card fraud and malware.

Can you count the number of bad justifications in this?  There’s a lot.  Even more, there’s some “creative accounting” in here, along with merging of various problems which the bill is not designed to “combat.”   You may see this from your representatives.

SOPA/PIPA: Paint It Black

You may have noticed that there’s a lot of black around the Internet today.  A number of sites, including Wikipedia, Reddit, Google, and others have gone “dark” or have blacked out portions of their web sites.  If you look at the upper right-hand corner of this blog, you’ll see a black ribbon.  The reason for this?  Two very similar bills which are working their way through Congress right now.  The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, and the Protect Internet Property Act (PIPA or Protect IP) in the Senate.  Why the fuss?  They are extremely dangerous the the Internet as we know it.

Overpaid? Depends on where you are

One of the things I’ve noticed on occasion is the use by various politicians of the pay scales in one part of the country to demonstrate how “overpaid” various people are.   It’s easy to point to someone in New York City and say “Hey, look at how much money they make!” and whip up the outrage somewhere like South Carolina.  From their standpoint, it is a lot of money.  Of course, that’s not the real story, and it’s one I do have a lot of personal experience with.  While it may seem that people in one area make more, it doesn’t necessarily translate to the same standard of living.

…and Miles To Go

Today is the national holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.    In August of 1963 he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and gave one of the great speeches in American history:  I Have a Dream.

It’s worthwhile to not just look at that speech, but also the difference in perceptions in whether his dream has been reached … or not.

Sorry Hear About Your Voter Fraud Problem

As the Republican primary season moves to South Carolina, one of the issues there is it’s voter ID law.  Yes, South Carolina, along with a number of other Republican governed states have passed strict voter ID laws, to combat voter fraud.  The federal government has objected to these laws, so right now they’re in limbo.  One would think that these states would only do this if there was a huge problem with voter fraud.  After thinking about it, I realize that voter fraud would explain a lot.

Another Friday

Which is a warning… I’m in one of my moods.  The “why aren’t you in a padded room?” moods.

Generalized Griping and Grousing

This past year has been … educational … I guess.  I’ve learned a few things, found out that some things I thought were over were still alive and kicking, and, looking ahead to the rest of this year, realize that I’m not going to be able to avoid a lot of it.  No, not just the politics, after all, I’m a political junkie, it’s all the other stuff going on in popular culture as well as the sideshows in politics.