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Author: MB Page 61 of 227

AP Fail

By

On August 4, 2009

In Distribution, Law, Society

Honestly, I just don’t know what to say about the Associated Press and its lawyers, these days:

The Associated Press — which thinks you owe it a license fee if you quote more than four words from one of its articles — doesn’t even care if the words actually came from its article. They’ll charge you anyway, even if you’re quoting from the public domain.

I picked a random AP article and went to their “reuse options” site. Then, when they asked what I wanted to quote, I punched in Thomas Jefferson’s famous argument against copyright. Their license fee: $12 for an educational 26-word quote. FROM THE PUBLIC FREAKING DOMAIN, and obviously, obviously not from the AP article. But the AP is too busy trying to squeeze the last few cents out of a dying business model to care about little things like free speech or the law.

Krugman on Health Care Realities

By

On July 31, 2009

In Policy, Politics

Well done:

At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program — but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, “wasn’t having any of it.”

It’s a funny story — but it illustrates the extent to which health reform must climb a wall of misinformation. It’s not just that many Americans don’t understand what President Obama is proposing; many people don’t understand the way American health care works right now. They don’t understand, in particular, that getting the government involved in health care wouldn’t be a radical step: the government is already deeply involved, even in private insurance.

And that government involvement is the only reason our system works at all.

He goes on to explain what I think of as obvious, but apparently isn’t.  Check it out.

Maybe Mark Warner Should Pay Attention . . .

By

On July 31, 2009

In Policy, Politics, Virginia

to this.

Southern Stupid

By

On July 31, 2009

In Personal, Politics, Society

I used to try and defend the South against stereotype-fueled charges of racism and ignorance, but I’ve long since stopped, in part because of things like this:

It turns out, less than surprisingly, that the cradle of the birther faith is in the South. Just shy of a majority of Southerners — not just Republicans, but everyone — believe Barack Obama was born in the United States. 47% of Southerners say Obama was born in the US; 30% aren’t sure; and 23% say Obama was not born in the USA.

And for those that don’t trust a DKos/Research 2000 poll, well:

Public Policy Polling was skeptical of the results found by DailyKos/Research 2000 that fewer than half of Republicans believed President Obama was a natural born American citizen.

However, in a Virginia poll currently in the field, PPP finds that just 79 of the first 168 respondents — both Democrats and Republicans — think Obama is a citizen, while 56 say he is not and 33 are not sure.

Update: Okay, that’s it.  Get out of the )(*@#@%@# Union.

Get Your (Class) War On

By

On July 31, 2009

In Distribution, Society

One of the human qualities I find myself least able to deal with is a lack of self-awareness.  And that’s the only thing I can imagine explains this:

A year after SLJ reported on the contentious dispute over a proposal to add a children’s room to the East Hampton Library in New York, the kids of the posh summer community are no closer to seeing it become a reality.

Library Director Dennis Fabiszak has said that the East Hampton Village Board of Zoning Appeals has expressed concern that an expanded children’s collection would lead to more library usage by those who live in the less affluent areas of Springs and Wainscott.

Poor kids reading books?  Oh noes!

Thank God DHS Is On The Job

By

On July 31, 2009

In Policy, Society, Tech

Whatever would we do without them?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItugh-fFgg[/youtube]

(There’s a fair chance that this was something of a PR stunt by the publisher.  But given the ineptness of DHS, and opportunity to publish the awesomeness above?  I’m comfortable with this post.)

“Focus On The Part That Matters”

By

On July 30, 2009

In Personal, Society

Without an ounce of snark or irony intended:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Ti-gkJiXc[/youtube]

We’re the United States. Shhhh!

By

On July 30, 2009

In Policy, Society

This is just boggling:

It has been nearly eight years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but the fears and anxieties they gave rise to continue to take a toll on the design of public buildings. Even the words “United States,” it seems — when spelled out in the wrong size and color — can be an unacceptable security risk.

Read the whole thing.  My hope is that some enterprising young Representative hungry for a bit of attention can ride this for a bit, hopefully embarrassing the people that brought this about.

Understanding the New Associated Press DRM

By

On July 30, 2009

In Distribution

As good an explanation as any, I think.

Did You Know that Under the Proposed Health Care Reform You Could DIE?

By

On July 29, 2009

In Politics

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6nMegZRejs[/youtube]

Because things never seem to change.

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