Abbey Lincoln

R.I.P.

1930 - 2010

Net Neutrality

Another broken promise?

Some in Silicon Valley are responding to the Google-Verizon pact on net neutrality, and they aren’t pleased.

Facebook, a member of the Open Internet Coalition, said it doesn’t support the legislative proposal. Google is also a member of the coalition, and is facing criticism for what looks like a retreat from previous principles.

“Facebook continues to support principles of net neutrality for both landline and wireless networks,” said spokesman Andrew Noyes in a statement. “Preserving an open Internet that is accessible to innovators -- regardless of their size or wealth -- will promote a vibrant and competitive marketplace where consumers have ultimate control over the content and services delivered through their Internet connections.”

Amazon.com has recently said it can support co-location of servers, where content companies like it and Google pay more to be closer to their customers. This provides faster delivery of their content and services.

But it isn't for the idea of managed services – carving out parts of Verizon’s broadband pipe to give out to the highest bidder (for example, if streaming Netflix on FiOs, chargingn consumers for the better quality).

"We've long supported net neutrality and although we agree that network operators should be allowed to offer additional services, we are concerned that this proposal appears to condone services that could harm consumer Internet access," Amazon said in a statement.

Patricia Neal

R.I.P.

1926 – 2010

Matt Simmons

R.I.P.

1943 - 2010

Wishing Her and the SCOTUS the Best

Kagan confirmed 63 to 37.

Minerals Management Services Redux

Follow-up story re Alaska:

On June 15th, as BP's catastrophic spill in the Gulf neared its third month, President Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office. His administration, he assured the American people, would not let such a disaster happen again. He had put an indefinite hold on plans to open up new coastal areas, including Florida and Virginia, to offshore exploration. And he had frozen all new permits to drill in deep waters for six months, to give a blue-ribbon commission time to study the disaster. "We need better regulations, better safety standards and better enforcement," the president insisted.

But Obama's tough-guy act offers no guarantee that oil giants like BP won't be permitted to repeat the same mistakes that led to the nightmare in the Gulf. Indeed, top environmentalists warn, the suspension of drilling appears to be little more than a stalling tactic designed to let public anger over BP's spill subside before giving Big Oil the go-ahead to drill in an area that has long been off-limits: the Arctic Ocean. The administration has approved plans by both BP and Shell Oil to drill a total of 11 wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas above Alaska — waters far more remote and hostile than the Gulf. Shell's operations could proceed as soon as the president's suspension expires in January. And thanks to an odd twist in its rig design, BP's drilling in the Arctic is on track to get the green light as soon as this fall.

MMS has become Salazar’s and Obama’s swamp now!

Catch Up!

Tuli Kupferberg

R.I.P.

1923 – 2010

The Very Rev. Walter Hawkins

R.I.P.

1949 – 2010

Finally!

The Office of Thrift Supervision is going to be closed down!

This is not News on Fox

It was one of Mr. Breitbart’s Web sites, BigGovernment, that highlighted the heavily edited video clip of Shirley Sherrod, a black official at the Department of Agriculture, apparently saying that she had been biased against a white farmer she was supposed to help. Ms. Sherrod’s full speech actually demonstrated the opposite, but do not expect Mr. Breitbart to be embarrassed.

He says there is an election-year strategy under way to “falsely malign opponents of the Democratic party as racist” and that he will continue to fight it.

“It’s warfare out there,” he said in an interview on Sunday.

The “warfare” is happening partly in the conservative media, where Mr. Breitbart has shown an uncanny ability to play on the issue of race and have it amplified on news shows, talk shows and blogs. The Sherrod episode is hardly the first charge of reverse racism that has been raised by conservative media figures, nor the first that Mr. Breitbart has had a hand in.

But it is an open question whether conservative media outlets risk damage to their credibility when obscure or misleading stories are blown out of proportion and when what amounts to political opposition research is presented as news.

The New Normal

What Bob Herbert says!

Job Killing Tax “Increases”

So, letting the tax cuts for the top 1% expire will kill jobs because these guys create the jobs. Where are all the jobs they created in the last 10 years when they reaped the reward of those job creating tax cuts?

Just asking?

Bob Herbert takes a look at this and doesn’t like what he sees!

Of Course!

In a landmark victory for gay rights, a federal judge on Wednesday declared California’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8 — the 2008 ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage — in a 136-page ruling that about 3:30 p.m. Dallas time.

Relieved of Command

So, the President didn’t actually fire McChrystal. He removed him from his command in Afghanistan and nominated General Petraeus to replace him.

Col. Lang explains why McChrystal can’t be “fired” by the POTUS without legal process, but simply relieved of his command.

Three Strikes!

He has to go. First there were the Tillman lies, then London and now this. If the President caves on this he has lost all the wars and not just Afghanistan.

Gasland: The Movie

This is a must see. It isn’t just about BP folks!

Hopefully the Pol’s in NYS will not allow this to happen here.

This movie couldn’t come at a more opportune time.

House and Wilson: Something to Talk About!

I don’t really watch all that much television as I find it for the most part boring. But when I do find something I actually want to spend time watching it is sure to be cancelled whether for a good reason or any reason. So, first went Monk, and then Bill Moyers retired. Luckily I still have House.

Now I have always been fascinated by Zebras whether financial, medical or social. And House is as you probably know all about medical Zebras. That said it is all about social Zebras as well. Most folks I know are interested in the House-Cuddy relationship, or the House-staff relationship. I am on the other hand fascinated by the real relationship Zebra between House and Wilson.

Little did I know that I am not the only one fascinated by this relationship. There is a plethora of youtube videos out there exploring the same thing

.

Here is just one video that explores their relationship with one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite musicians.

Let’s hope that House stays around for as long as possible.

Himan Brown

R.I.P.

1911 - 2010

Revolutionary Road

I am not necessarily a DiCaprio or Winslet fan so I was skeptical about watching the movie. But I love Bates. So, I soldiered on.

I had been warned by many folks that the ending was “shocking.” So, I was very surprised that it wasn’t shocking at all.

As I thought about it I realized that most of those who warned me lacked a sense of “social” history. And, they were also too young to know that the events of the film were leading directly to this ending.

The ending was indeed sad, but not shocking, and all too obvious, frequent and true.

Sol on the Constitution

And he is right:

The Miranda rule strikes a delicate balance, enabling us to protect a fundamental constitutional right without forcing the courts to allow the legitimacy of every confession to be proven before it is allowed into evidence. To compromise the rule would be counterproductive and destructive to the kind of freedom we enjoy as Americans — a freedom that terrorists would like nothing better than to destroy.

In 1985 when I was working in the Mayor’s office, Chief Judge Wachtler wrote the decision outlawing Spousal Rape in New York State. He impressed me then, and notwithstanding his legal problems, he still does impress me.

Ernie Goes to Jail!

It is about time. His luck has apparently run out. However, I think the fine and sentence are a little light considering what he has done.

Do you suppose the NY Department of Corrections will provide him with his favorite brand of T-shirt?

Mildred E. Orton

R.I.P.

1911 – 2010

Not looking Good!

This is getting scarier by the day!

Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick. The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given.

“There’s a shocking amount of oil in the deep water, relative to what you see in the surface water,” said Samantha Joye, a researcher at the University of Georgia who is involved in one of the first scientific missions to gather details about what is happening in the gulf. “There’s a tremendous amount of oil in multiple layers, three or four or five layers deep in the water column.”

The plumes are depleting the oxygen dissolved in the gulf, worrying scientists, who fear that the oxygen level could eventually fall so low as to kill off much of the sea life near the plumes.

Dr. Joye said the oxygen had already dropped 30 percent near some of the plumes in the month that the broken oil well had been flowing. “If you keep those kinds of rates up, you could draw the oxygen down to very low levels that are dangerous to animals in a couple of months,” she said Saturday. “That is alarming.”

And I am afraid that BP, etc., don’t know what to do about it and are just making it up as they go along.

As I told my sister: it's time to short shrimp!

Bank Fee Regulation Passes!

Retailers have begged Congress for years, in vain, to limit the fees they must pay to banks when customers swipe credit or debit cards. Bills never reached a vote. Amendments were left on the table. The Senate did not even grant the courtesy of a committee hearing.

That long record of futility ended in a landslide Thursday night. Sixty-four senators, including 17 Republicans, agreed to impose price controls on debit transactions over the furious objections of the beleaguered banking industry.

It is about time. These transaction fees amount to a tax imposed by the banks. Now it should be extended to credit card transactions.

Though, I have to disagree with the author that the banking industry is “beleaguered.”

Elena Kagan

How can she possibly replace Justice Stevens? Judge Wood would have been a better pick.

Well, it could have been worse. It could have been Cass Sunstein!

The Secrets of the Temple

It looks like some of those secrets could finally be exposed. It’s a start. And thank you to the good Socialist Senator from Vermont, the good Liberal Congressperson from Florida and the Libertarian Representative from Texas for all their hard work. This is bipartisanship one can believe in.

Lena Horne

R.I.P.

1917 – 2010

Timmy

His testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on Thursday (Panel 2) was abhorrent and so disingenuous. Apparently Gramm-Leach-Bliley and deregulation is unmentionable and had little or nothing to do with our current and on going Financial Crisis.

Well, I am sure if I were him that is what I would like to believe (see Geithner, Summers and Rubin.) What a weasel!

Bring back Glass-Steagall!

Rhonda Copelon

R.I.P.

1944 – 2010

She talked me into staying in Law School. And as usual, she was right.

Lynn Redgrave

R.I.P.

1943 – 2010