Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is a Crybaby

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, according to this article, is crying to the government for more regulatory oversight over one of its competitors, Google.

Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer intends to keep the regulatory heat on Google as his company strives to lessen its rival’s dominance of Internet search.

In an appearance Tuesday at a search engine conference, Ballmer said Microsoft believes Google Inc. has done things to gain an unfair advantage in the Internet’s lucrative search advertising market. He didn’t specify the alleged misconduct.

How unfair of Google to be so successful and to have such a dominant search engine capability enabling Google to rake in millions of advertising dollars, so naturally Microsoft CEO Ballmer wants the government to strong arm some of the market profitability into Microsoft’s pockets, with the support of other jealous search engine companies.

The article also informs us that Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is against government intervention in the search engine advertising market profitability.

"I am actually not interested in government intervention in anything,” Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told reporters during a Tuesday lunch to celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary. “I think for the most part markets work. I don’t wish antitrust on anyone."

Which could make one think that Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is a principled individual, but, alas, that is not the case at all as is evidenced by this sentence from the article.

Yahoo also lobbied regulators to oppose the agreement that would give Google the electronic rights to millions of hard-to-find books.

One of the last quotes from Ballmer in the article is the following.

"There is an advantage to having the power of two, as opposed to the power of one,” Ballmer told the crowd at the Search Marketing Expo.

Yeah, and the advantage of the power of two is that it would allow Microsoft to gang up on Google, since the one to one battle for success in maximizing search engine advertising revenue is being sorely lost by Microsoft.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/03 at 02:22 PM
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Civil Disobedience Can Be Rewarding

Civil disobedience, as Thoreau advocated, though recognized and admired by many individuals, is seldom put into action by individuals due to fear of the State for whatever act of civil disobedience may be contemplated or acted on.

Though the State should fear its citizens, that is seldom the case, as is amply illustrated by the State’s continued intrusive control of individuals through various forms of legislation, all of which carry some penalty for non-compliance to install the fear the State so badly needs to control individuals.

With that said, here is an act of civil disobedience wherein the State loses and the civil disobedient individual is rewarded.

A nurse who was handcuffed when she refused to draw blood from a drunken-driving suspect has settled her lawsuit against a Chicago Police officer for $78,000, according to city records.

Here’s a quote from the nurse’s attorney.

"It is important to remember that nurses work for hospitals and not the Chicago Police Department,” Hofstra’s attorney Blake Horwitz said Tuesday. Horwitz said his client understands the need for officers to obtain blood samples, but “it just has to be done through proper means."

Horowitz’s quote begins well, but then wanders off course when he concedes the State’s force backed request would be legitimate if “done through proper means.”

Handcuffed nurse settles for $78,000

Viddies of arrest at linked story.

Via The Obscure Store.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/03 at 12:20 PM
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AARP - Are You Sick or Something?

I’ll shortly hit the half century mark, and in commemoration of this auspicious event the AARP, always on the ball and in search of aging recruits to swell their ranks like an aged persons ankles, has sent me an AARP membership application, though I am assured that my admission is “guaranteed,” if I am the age of 50 or over.  Isn’t that special?

The AARP “application” informs me that I will receive handsome benefits, in exchange for my sixteen dollar ($16.00) membership payment, good for one (1) year, which are as follows.  The “award-winning” AARP The Magazine, AARP website access, which anyone can access anyway, the AARP Bulletin, and lots of AARP email spam in the form of newsletters.  Other benefits the AARP promises are discounts on travel and other services, access to health related benefits, note that said access to health related benefits is not a guarantee of benefit, and access to financial programs.

Additionally, the AARP membership application informs me that another of the benefits I’ll enjoy for joining AARP is that they will provide a spokesperson for my rights, in case I’ve gone mute or lost my marbles I guess, to represent me in Washington and all 50 states, fighting age dimscrimination, protecting pension rights, Social Security and Medicare.  My own personal lobbyist whose job is to somehow enable me to claim what I have not earned, with the State as my strong armed robber and the AARP as the State’s cheerleader.  How nice.

To round out the benefits which are to accrue to me for turning 50 years old the AARP also notes that they have over 2,000 local chapters, safe driving courses, volunteer opportunities and a reduced-fee legal service network.  Wow!

In small print, on the back of the detachable AARP application, for aging folks who can still read unaided by spectacles, magnifying glass or other reading aid, I am informed that if I become an AARP member they will share my information with companies the AARP has selected to provide AARP member benefits and which “support AARP operations.” Though I can opt out of this information sharing by calling an 800 number or emailing them, if I joined, it would probably be too late for my opting out to be effective, as the application would have been processed and my information sold via payment by the selected companies’ support for AARP operations.

I’m going to pass on joining, as I do not need or want the AARP’s supposed benefits of membership, and besides, these type of groups make me want to aarp in my commode.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/03 at 09:10 AM
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Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Wolly Mammoth Entrepreneurs

In a LA Times piece headlined Woolly mammoths resurfacing in Siberia, we learn the following.

Hand-to-mouth reindeer herders on Russia’s desolate tundra have coexisted with the traces of mammoths for generations. Romanenko claims that there are cases of long-frozen mammoth meat being thawed and cooked, or fed to the dogs.

Now entire villages are surviving on the trade in mammoth bones. And a new verb has entered the vernacular: mamontit, or “to mammoth”—meaning, to go out in search of bones.

Good for them, and their sense of self reliance, I say.  Mamontit!

Posted by John Venlet on 03/02 at 05:25 PM
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A Civil Disobedience Salute to Brit Nick Hogan

A British pub owner, Nick Hogan, has the dubious distinction of being both the first individual to be prosecuted, and now jailed, under Britain’s no smoking laws, part of Britain’s Health Act of 2006.

A former pub landlord yesterday became the first person to be jailed in connection with the smoking ban.

Nick Hogan, 43, was sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to pay a fine imposed for flouting the legislation.

Two years ago Hogan, who ran two pubs in Bolton, became the first landlord convicted of breaking the law for allowing his customers to routinely light up in his bars.

Mr. Hogan, after being convicted for allowing individuals freedom of choice in his pubs, rather than forced, meek acquiescence to Britain’s no smoking laws, refused to pay a fine of £3,000 and court imposed costs of £7,236, and thus has landed in jail.

But the married father-of-two refused to pay the fine and yesterday, after repeatedly being hauled back before the courts, a judge sitting at Bolton Crown Court finally lost patience and jailed him.

I salute Nick Hogan and wish him well.

Pub landlord is first person in Britain to be jailed over smoking ban

If you are so inclined, you can make donations to assist Nick Hogan in paying off the State imposed fine and court costs at the blog Old Holburn, whose posted motto is as follows.

You can stick your CCTV, Police State, wheelie bin Stasi, DNA, WMD, “Social Cohesion”, benefits for all, guilty until proved innocent, don’t do that it’s illegal now, can’t say that, ID cards for all, where are you going, what have you been saying/doing/reading?, can’t photograph that, how very dare you, golliwog banning, global warming, we know where you live, we’re watching you Soviet Utopia up your arses. Sideways.

Fine sentiments.

Linked via Tom Palmer.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/02 at 04:37 PM
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Monday, March 01, 2010

Nothing to See Here in Ogden, UT

The “suspicious substance” found in an IRS office in Ogden, Utah is not hazardous.  Nothing to see here, citizens, move on.

Official: Substance at Utah IRS bldg not hazardous

Posted by John Venlet on 03/01 at 07:09 PM
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The Federalist Papers - A Childish Cautionary Note

Political correctness reaches a new low, in an introductory cautionary statement regarding The Federalist Papers. Per a post at The Corner by Jay Nordlinger, you can read a note from a Corner reader which states the following.

Our home library needed a new copy of the Federalist Papers (the old copy having succumbed to 25 years of thumbing, page-turning, and note-taking). The new copy, published by Wilder Publications in 2008, offers this disclaimer:

“This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.”

Not wanting to simply accept that this is accurate, I clicked over to Amazon.com to see whether the Wilder Publication of The Federalist Papers actually printed the above “disclaimer.” Sure enough, they did.

Judas priest.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/01 at 02:16 PM
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Sunday, February 28, 2010

I'd Rather Rot in Hell, Al Gore

Al Gore has an op-ed piece in the New York Times titled We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change, defending, naturually, the pseudo-science of AGW. Gore’s piece deserves to be torn apart simply based on his global warming musings, but I will leave that to others.  What I want to address is the following sentence from Gore’s AGW defense.

From the standpoint of governance, what is at stake is our ability to use the rule of law as an instrument of human redemption.

It is time for the State to quit legislating my, or any other individual’s, redemption, whether the State’s reason for use of force (legislation), to ensure human redemption, is concern for my soul, or my physical well being.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 02:36 PM
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"Stupid religious, conservative people"

The title to this post is not original to me, it is taken from the title of Donald Sensing’s post Stupid, religious, conservative people, which Sensing penned after reading a piece at CNN Health titled Liberalism, atheism, male sexual exclusivity linked to IQ which begins this way.

Political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, a new study finds.

Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa at the the London School of Economics and Political Science correlated data on these behaviors with IQ from a large national U.S. sample and found that, on average, people who identified as liberal and atheist had higher IQs. This applied also to sexual exclusivity in men, but not in women. The findings will be published in the March 2010 issue of Social Psychology Quarterly.

The IQ differences, while statistically significant, are not stunning—on the order of 6 to 11 points...

Sensing, tongue in cheek, begins his post this way.

I am stunned to learn that I must be a dummy because I am both religious and conservative.

I cannot say that I was stunned, when I read the CNN piece yesterday, but I too must be a dummy, because I am religious and conservative.

Sensing dissects the CNN piece, and exposes it for the “fatally, internally inchoherent” study that it is.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 11:40 AM
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Forget About Greece, Beware the Coming California Contagion

Mr Dimon told investors at the Wall Street bank’s annual meeting that “there could be contagion” if a state the size of California, the biggest of the United States, had problems making debt repayments.

California is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief

Via Drudge.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 10:55 AM
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Are You a Three Percenter?

Do you know the meaning of the term Three Percenter, and what it would mean to be a Three Percenter?  Do you think the United States government is a threat to your rights, as a majority of Americans do?

CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens’ rights

If you do not understand the meaning of the term Three Percenter, or what it means to be a Three Percenter, but understand the threat the United States government poses to your individual rights, Mike Vanderboegh, “The Dutchman,” has posted a primer, of sorts, which explains what it means to be a Three Percenter in real life, easily understood terms.

“Yeah, but what does that Three Percent thing MEAN?”

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 10:37 AM
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"A Little Know Medical Fact" and the 2nd Amendment

To wit: The most common cause of erectile disfunction (sic) in rapists is none other than a snub nosed 38 special in the hands of a female willing to use it.

From a Rachel Peepers post at Eternity Road titled Don’t leave home without it.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 10:29 AM
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A Most Beautiful Expression of Love

Liu Xiaobo, was recently sentenced to eleven (11) years in prison, in China, for advocating freedom.  The Guardian interviewed Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, and published this interview under the headline My dear husband Liu Xiaobo, the writer China has put behind bars. At the end of the interview, there is a note from Liu Xiaobo to his wife Liu Xia which is one of the most beautiful expressions of love I have ever read.

LIU XIAOBO’S MESSAGE TO HIS WIFE AS HE WAS JAILED FOR 11 YEARS

“She cannot be present today, but I still want to tell you, my sweetheart, that I’m confident that your love for me will be as always.

Your love is sunlight that transcends prison walls and bars, stroking every inch of my skin, warming my every cell, letting me maintain my inner calm, magnanimous and bright, so that every minute in prison is full of meaning… My love is hard, sharp, and can penetrate any obstacles. Even if I am crushed into powder, I will embrace you with the ashes."

That is love.  Read the whole interview.

Linked via Tom Palmer.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 10:09 AM
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Transforming or Already Transformed?

In a Saturday post at The Corner, under the heading Transformation, Andy McCarthy comments on the upcoming November elections and the alleged nervousness of Democrats subject to reelection by the whim of voters, with an emphasis on how the health care debacle plays into this.

McCarthy states that the Democrats are to the point where they will attempt to pass ObamaCare (DeathCare), regardless of how it may effect upcoming November elections, in order to move closer to the overall goal of the State, which is complete power/control over individuals lives, and McCarthy then makes this statement.

This is about power, and there is more to power than winning elections, especially if you’ve calculated that your opposition does not have the gumption to dismantle your ballooning welfare state. (bold by ed.)

The absolute truth of the portion of the above quote which I’ve highlighted can be illustrated by the following comment, taken from a Vodkapundit post titled The Brutal Truth About Californians, wherein an individual who attended a recent talk to a group of California conservatives, if there are actually conservatives in California, given by California’s State Controller of Currency, notes the response of conservatives to questions regarding the cutting of certain social programs.

Here’s the really scary thing: he asked the group how many people would be willing to cut spending in the following areas: Education, Health Care assistance, and Prisons? These areas comprise 92% of California’s budget, so any meaningful cuts would have to touch them. I was the ONLY person in the room that raised their hand for all three. And without naming names, this was one of the most conservative groups of people you could get into a room (at least in Cali).

If people don’t even have the guts to raise their hands in a room full of as like-minded a bunch as you’re going to find, how on earth do they expect their politicians to do anything? (bold by ed.)

As Billy Beck notes, after reading the above quote.

At this point of this disaster, there will be no voting our way out of it. The prevailing epistemology doesn’t permit it: there simply are not enough people out there who know how to think. The dominant ethics of the culture won’t have it: everybody wants to live at the expense of everyone else, and freedom is not a value in this country, anymore.

I say that you can count California as quite fairly representative of the United States at large, and you can take it from there.

America has been transformed.  Unfortunately it has been transformed into a gutless, socialist wonder.

Posted by John Venlet on 02/28 at 09:02 AM
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Friday, February 26, 2010

Hope or Individual Action to Fix What's Broken?

According to CNN poll numbers released Sunday, Americans overwhelmingly think that the U.S. government is broken - though the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what’s broken can be fixed.

I recommend individual action to fix what’s broken, rather than holding out hope with which the government will further bind you.

CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens’ rights

Posted by John Venlet on 02/26 at 10:58 AM
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