Roundup on the Gates Case

Here is a very good opinion roundup from both black and white commentators on how race may have played into the arrest of Professor Gates: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/the-gates-case-and-racial-profiling/

My own thoughts on this case is that Professor Gates probably got a bit too combative, and that the cops were probably bored enough to arrest him.  As far as I'm concerned, yelling at a cop should not get you arrested if you were not committing any other crime.  And even if these cops acted appropriately, which is possible, we all know that there are many police officers who are all too happy to arrest anyone for even the smallest offense.  

Hopefully this case serves as a warning to LEO's everywhere, to always hold the high ground and not to arrest everyone in sight.

How Palm Did It

Palm has some pretty big balls.  In order to re-enable iTunes synching, they just went ahead and copied Apple's USB vendor ID.  This is going to be tough for Apple to workaround.

Better yet, Palm has filed a complain against Apple for violating USB standards, something that Palm is arguably doing now.  

http://www.precentral.net/how-palm-re-enabled-itunes-sync

Palm strikes back

Palm has just re-enabled iTunes synching with the Pre, basically giving Apple the finger.

I love it.

The new update also adds NFL Mobile, which will let me watch the Lions lose from wherever I am.

CCW Amendment Fails

Today an amendment to a defense bill that would have granted universal reciprocity for carrying concealed weapons was defeated. I am for the liberalization of concealed carry laws, as I believe that the 2nd amendment gives us the right to bear (and carry) arms.

However, this amendment would not have addressed one important issue: the lack of uniform state laws. Vermont allows anyone to carry with no permit. Virginia allows open carry with no permit, but a permit is required for concealed carry. Michigan requires you to inform any cop you interact with that you are carrying, or else. Ohio allows businesses to ban carrying if they post a sign; other states do not. These laws make it very confusing for anyone to travel between states, and what we need is a federal law that governs this issue. It could establish uniform standards for training and also established where people can and cannot carry.

Quote of the day

"I think that Glenn Beck is a guy who looked out across the vast expanse of America and saw a nation filled with paranoid dipshits waiting to have their irrational fears confirmed and exploited by an expert modern charlatan, a role he's been all too happy to fill."

 

-Gawker

http://gawker.com/5320095/the-glenn-beck-conundrum

 

I completely agree.  Glenn Beck is just in it to make a buck, and he found a great way: build an audience of idiots.

NHTSA thinks all phones should be banned

I always thought banning handheld phone use in cars was stupid, since its not the hands the lead to the problems, its the brain. Looks like the government agreed, but lacked the balls to make this recommendation public until they were forced.

Not that I agree with it, I just think it's stupid to ban handhelds. The way I see it, if you injure someone while talking on the phone, it constitutes negligence, a tort. This alone is enough reason to not use it while driving.

The Moon Landing, 40 years later

40 years ago, the first humans set foot on the moon. It was the fulfillment of a challenge first brought on us by President Kennedy. For a short time, the world stood still, with everyone's eyes glued to the television, watching Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong take don their spacesuits and walk on the lunar surface. And then the famous words were spoken:

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

We have not been back to the moon since, and while many say that we ought to go back, NASA's budget is better spent with unmanned probes and in studying the climate of earth. But moon landings are a bit fun.

Five Hour Energy not all its cracked up to be?

Interesting article on the ubiquitous energy drink available at just about any gas station in the country. Bottom line: it may or may not work better than coffee, and the safety is not clear.

Verizon shoots self in foot

Verizon Wireless will be releasing its own App Store shortly, and will be forcing any phone manufacturer to only feature the Verizon store on the phones it sells through Verizon. This move is unprecedented and very stupid.

There are currently a few big players in the App store market:

Apple - by far the largest

Blackberry

Google (via Android)

Palm

Currently 3 of these 4 only sell phones on one US carrier, with Blackberry selling on all US carriers. Verizon has basically taken away from its customers the hope of ever being able to activate an iPhone on their network and run the risk of Blackberry jumping ship.

I understand the business strategy behind this, but I think that Verizon is going completely against the grain and is unlikely to find success.

One thing to note is that customers would still be able to install another App store on the phone, it would just take another manual step that many customers won't know how to do.

Apple declares war against Palm

The battle has been taken to the next level. Apple has blocked the ability to sync the Pre with iTunes.

I am a bit surprised, I don't see any way that this will benefit Apple. Consider:

Apple is going to be portrayed as a complete bully. This is Apple vs. Microsoft all over again, with Apple taking Microsoft's place.

They are alienating Palm's small but growing userbase.

Apple is going to lose some customers out of this.

It will be interesting to see if any anti-trust actions are filed.

In the meantime, there are many options to Pre users, including Doubletwist and other media players. Or you can just go the dirty way and drag and drop.

More details on healthcare out of the house

Here is a good summary of the proposed changes to healthcare, which I support. Note that the funding will be provided by penalizing those who fail to purchase plans and also to employers that refuse to provide healthcare. Additionally there is a tax on singles making more than 250 or couples making more than 350. Very few people fall into this category, but as I've said previously, you'll see republicans making minimum wage complain about taxes.

The plan is good and nearly supports everyone. Let's get this passed.

Sotomayor a shoe in

In my one-thousandth post, I will report that Sonia Sotomayor is without a doubt going to be joining the Supreme Court. There is nearly zero republican opposition to this nominee, outside of the rightmost fringes of that party.

Over the next few days, we'll see some more confirmation hearings, but the GOP leaders in the Senate are not putting up a fight, meaning that we'll soon have Justice Sotomayor.

Nationals fire Manny Acta

The Washington Nationals fired manager Manny Acta today. The team has started 26-61 and is by far the worst team in baseball. Despite being a young guy with experience on good teams like the Mets, Manny was never able to turn around the team. Possibly because he was too nice of a guy.

After Frank Robinson had left the team around .500 two seasons in a row, you'd have thought some new blood would propel the Nats to winning, but the things have only gone down hill since Frank's high water days of 2005-2006.

My take on this season: the rotation is decent but very young, the bullpen is atrocious, the offense has improved at the expense of defect.

Newsweek commentary on Israeli Settlements

There is a new opinion piece in Newsweek about how to sell the American public on Israeli settlements. To me, this seems to be a completely inappropriate article for Newsweek.

Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories have been ruled as illegal by international organizations, and they are one of the main reasons why Israel continues to be perceived badly in the world at large.

Israeli settlements are similar to Iranian nuclear weapons: both are unacceptable, and trying to "sell" the American public on them should not be a published stratetgy in a news magazine.

National Park Lodges

Here is a nice slideshow of some of the best national park lodges. I have only stayed at one on the list, Big Meadows, at my favorite Nat'l Park, SNP.



Definitely a fun summer activity to travel to our country's most scenic places.