Politics

Politics

There are 1,053 posts filed in Politics (this is page 97 of 106).

US to shoot down errant spy satellite

A sophisticated U.S. spy satellite is deorbiting out of control. The Bush administration announced its plans to shoot down the satellite with a ship-fired missile, ostensibly because of fears its rocket fuel would poison anyone coming in contact with it.

Riiiiiight. It would be the first time ever the Bush administration paid a whit to the environment. The satellite is likely to have a fiery reentry, so it would follow that any remaining rocket fuel would burn with it. The real reason for the shootdown is to keep the terrists from discovering the bird’s secret capabilities.

Plus, it will make a really cool bang.

On board with Obama

Kelly and I kicked in a few bucks to Barack Obama’s campaign this weekend. I know it seems we’re piling onto the bandwagon but I said way back in September that he’d likely get my vote.

I used to respect John McCain after reading about how he conducted himself as a POW and how he’s defied death a half-dozen times. Too bad he sold out in the 2004 election. And anyone who considers Joe Lieberman a friend is suspect right from the get-go.

Hillary Clinton …. well, we just won’t go there.

Converting Raleigh’s streaming media into open formats

The City of Raleigh now makes the meetings of the city council and other boards available as streaming media hosted by the company called Granicus. These streams are helpful for getting citizens (particularly geek citizens locked in a cubicle) a look at government happenings but they are offered in a proprietary Windows Media 9 format and not an open format like Xvid, MPEG4 and the like. Linux media players like Totem and Mplayer can play the existing streams but the streams’ lack of an index makes it impossible to skip through the sessions.
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Highlights of 2007: Rodger Koopman’s campaign

And now for my last and most important event of 2007: my work on the Raleigh City Council campaign of Rodger Koopman. I felt like I was finally in my element: helping with strategy, studying voters, hosting a meet-and-greet, minding campaign signs until late in the night, knocking on hundreds of doors, and finally managing poll greeters on election day. It was hard work – possibly the hardest volunteer work I’ve done – but I loved every minute of it.
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Ted Turner to speak at UNC

This afternoon at 4, broadcasting magnate Ted Turner speaks at UNC at a free public event. Growing up in Atlanta in the 1970s, I remember watching shows like Gilligan’s Island on WTBS Channel 17. At school I would jokingly refer to him as “Uncle Ted” whenever my friends would ask if we were related.

I’m going to see if my schedule allows me to hear what Turner has to say today. I hope to ask him about his new venture, DT Solar, and what he thinks about the outrageous campaign finance requirements presidential candidates have as a result of not freeing the airwaves.

CPSC has only one full-time staffmember testing toys

Remember all those toy recalls due to excessive amounts of lead? It turns out George W. Bush’s Consumer Products Safety Commission only has only one full-time staffmember who tests toys. That’s one staffer standing between us and $600 billion of toys imported from China, a place where corner-cutting is rampant.

Let’s pass a federal law banning lead in toys. Let’s also find CPSC chairwoman Nancy Nord another job.

Heck of a job, Nordie.

(Via Crooks and Liars)