Steamd

By now you’ve probably heard that Sarah Palin has chosen to resign as Alaska governor. She has stated many reasons for why this decision was made and, while they are likely all highly legitimate reasons, the main question that still has not been answered is this: Does this mean you’re out of politics?

Right out of the gate, even before the crux of this announcement has been reached, Republican pundits are already defending her decision to resign as governor. Now, I don’t know if there are other circumstances surrounding her resignation because it’s too early to tell. Regardless, why others within her party would be so quick to defend her is rather perplexing. Seems a little hypocritical to me because, let’s face it, if any Democratic governor decided to do the very same thing you can be sure they would be criticized to the hilt by Republican pundits.

Aside from any reason for the resignation, the fact of the matter is that Sarah Palin has proved that she can’t finish what she started. As an elected official, unless there are extenuating circumstances, you have an obligation to do your job and finish your term. By failing that obligation, Palin is breaking her promise to the Alaskan citizens who voted for her. Any way you slice it, there is no positive spin to this resignation. It’s a bad decision through and through.

What makes this decision so bad is that it makes it difficult to see her realistically run for President in 2012. If she does plan on running for President then she has a lot of explaining to do. How can anyone expect her to run the country as President when she can’t even finish the job as Governor of Alaska? As far as I’m concerned, this is the death of Palin’s political career. Yet another grand example of how the Republican party is retreating into insanity.

When I read this story it just pissed me off. Here’s the part that really did it for me:

….Late in the hearing, [Bart] Stupak, the committee chairman, put the executives on the spot. Stupak asked each of them whether he would at least commit his company to immediately stop rescissions except where they could show “intentional fraud.”

The answer from all three executives: “No.”

Lord forbid that executives will be required to reduce their compensation to ensure that patients can actually pay their medical bills. All it does is further support my argument that a public healthcare option isn’t optional. Personally I’m more for a single-payer system. Sorry execs but my body isn’t a commodity.  More on that soon.

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Been a while since I’ve posted anything on my blog. It’s not that I haven’t had time or had anything to write about. Honestly, I’ve been dealing with some health issues lately and have found it hard to really write anything. I’m getting back in the swing of things though.

Just today, I stumbled on a few videos with right-wing neo-cons Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh claiming that Obama might possibly have something to do with Chrysler closing down mostly Republican dealerships:

What a crock of shit! These guys lack any common sense whatsoever. Why on Earth would Chrysler allow Obama or anyone on Capital Hill to dictate to them who they can and cannot allow to sell their cars? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of. It’s not Obama’s job anyways to dictate how Chrysler runs their business. The only thing Obama asked for was a business plan before he allows for bailout funds. That’s just common sense.

No one really knows exactly what the criteria was for which dealership contracts Chrysler was renewing and not renewing. My guess is that they went down the line city by city and picked the ones that provided the most consistent sales and profitability. Chrysler is a business first and foremost. As such, they’re not going to cancel the contract on a successful dealership on the basis of their political affiliation. That’s just stupid.

As usual, this is just the usual crap Malkin and Limbaugh spit out. Their spin consists of taking an array of disparate facts and coincidences and throwing them out there as proof that Obama and liberals suck. These guys really need to get a grip. Jeez!

Thanks to memo released by the Obama administration, we now learn that at least two suspected al Qaeda leaders were waterboarded at least 266 times. Here’s how I feel about torture…

I don’t believe that torture should be used no matter what the circumstances. This is real life dealing with real human beings. This isn’t an “us vs. them” issue. It’s an issue of humanity. This isn’t the TV show “24“. People really need to get that kind of destructive thinking out of their heads.

The so-called “War on Terror” isn’t about fighting terrorists as much as it is about fighting an ideology. In order to fight an ideology you have to refrain from activities that the enemy is accusing you of doing. By committing any acts of torture we are only adding fuel to the flames.

Think of it like this: Allowing torture in certain circumstances is the equivalent of Mahandas Gandhi saying that there are times when it’s ok to shoot someone with a gun in self defense. To fight terror you have to change the way you think and take a much more worldly view of the problem. This isn’t an issue that you can make go away by simply torturing and bombing suspected and/or known terrorists.

Knowing that the Bush administration allowed for this level of torture does nothing but illustrate just how much of a failure the Bush administration was on the war against terror.

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What occurred at the University of Utah is scary. I mean, the Conficker worm could be a lot worse that it is. Even now, nobody is really sure what kind of damage the worm is capable. Here’s the really scary part:

University health sciences spokesman Chris Nelson said the outbreak of the Conficker worm, which can slow computers and steal personal information, was first detected Thursday. By Friday, the virus had infiltrated computers at the hospitals, medical school, and colleges of nursing, pharmacy and health.

It infiltrated computers at a hospital? Holy shnikes, that’s scary! Can you imagine all the problems that would occur if patient data and medical records were compromised? I’m sure it wouldn’t be that big of a problem, but I bet some patients wouldn’t find it funny.

The staggering reality of the Conficker worm is that at least one in every three Windows-based PC’s are susceptible to the worm. Why? It all boils down to people not keeping their computers up to date. Either they’re not installing the updates or they’re ignoring them. How many times have you looked on someone’s Windows machine only to see that yellow shield glaring at you in the system tray? Also, how many times have you noticed that someone’s antivirus software is out of date? It’s ridiculous considering the sheer number of people who don’t keep their systems up to date.

The Conficker worm is just one more thing that shows just how much Windows is due for a serious overhaul. Those that don’t know well enough to keep their systems up to date would fare better with a Mac or Linux system. Granted, no system is 100% safe but at least with a Mac you don’t have to worry as much about this stuff.

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I swear, I wonder why my wife and I live in Farmers Branch. Thanks to our lovely mayor, Tim O’Hare, our city has to pay out a million dollars in fines due to the shitty way he and the rest of city hall dealt with some stupid immigration laws they were trying to pass. Sorry, Timmy, but regardless of how you feel you’re not above the Federal government! So now our city is forced to pay out a million dollars of our taxes to the advocacy groups who paid out the ass to ensure that Farmers Branch didn’t pass these laws. Thanks, Tim, for wasting our tax dollars for no reason. Very much appreciate it.  

And here’s the part that really gets under my skin:

“Mayor Tim O’Hare did not return a call for comment Wednesday to The Associated Press.”

Yeah, when you have nothing to say, no real answer, and no way to defend yourself, you go hide in your hole and refuse to answer to the press for your actions. Good job. Tim, I think you owe it to the city that elected you to step up, be a man, and take the heat. Otherwise, your city is gonna look really bad publicity wise. 

Since 2006, the city has spent some $2 million on legal fees related to illegal immigration rules and rental ordinances it has not been able to enforce, the newspaper reported.

So with the recent fees, does that mean our city has spent $3 million on this nonsense?  Argh!  There are far more productive projects to spend $3 million on, Tim. Immigration might be a hot topic in this country but it’s not up to Farmers Branch to lead the charge in change. Want to really change things? How about putting together a coalition between other cities in Texas and other states and rally our Senators and Representatives to actually represent us and put up bills to change things. Ever thought about that? It’s called the internet, Tim!  And theres this thing on it called social networking! Use it, dumbass!

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AppleInsider reports on a new add by Microsoft that tries to make Macs look unaffordable next to PCs. Does their argument hold water though? Well, sort of. As AppleInsider points out, the HP laptop the lady buys in the ad lags behind a MacBook Pro in terms of quality. It lacks 902.11n wireless capabilities, doesn’t have Gigabit Ethernet, no digital audio inputs and outputs, weighs 7.75 pounds (15″ MacBook Pro only weighs 5.5 pounds), doesn’t have any more resolution than the 15″ MacBook Pro and, based on reviews, has a horrible viewing angle.

The last time my wife and I went to Costco, I took a moment to look at the latest laptops Costco was selling. I looked a few HP’s as well as a few other laptops. I don’t know if I looked at the same laptop but it definitely was one in the same price bracket (sub-$1,000). My first impression? Even without Windows Vista on it, I probably wouldn’t buy one regardless of the low price. With all the plastic covering it, it felt flimsy and cheap.

You know the old adage, “You get what you pay for”? Believe it. While a MacBook Pro might cost you twice as much as a cheap sub-$1,000 notebook, it’ll last you twice as long if not longer. That’s a good investment in my opinion. 

More on this topic tomorrow.

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John Gruber posted this on his blog and I just had to comment. It seems that Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s ever so talented CEO, has stuck his foot in his mouth once again: 

“Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction,” Ballmer said, via webcast. “The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment — same piece of hardware — paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that’s a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.”

Wait a minute.  Hold on.  So, what Steve is trying to say is that the typical Apple computer is $500 more than what everyone else is charging for a similar PC? Really? Last time I checked, a PC with the same processor, same amount of memory, same amount of hard drive space, similar video card, and such was within $100 of what Apple was charging. Simply put, Apple sells premium computers with premium parts; not cheap ass sub $1,000 crap computers. Granted, you can get a Mac Mini for under $700 and a MacBook for $999 but, even then, they’re still great computers and you get what you pay for and then some. 

Plus, what Ballmer fails to realize is that you’re not just paying for a name. People don’t buy an Apple computer and/or pay more just because it has a pretty logo on it. An Apple computer is more than just a computer and an operating system. It’s about providing a seamless experience between the hardware and software. Without the OS, an Apple computer isn’t an Apple computer anymore. Same applies to putting the Mac OS on hardware that is different than what Apple sells. It’s the combination of the two that distinguishes an Apple computer from a PC.

Figure it that your average computer buyer only upgrades a computer about once every three to five years or so. Regardless of the economy, people want their dollar to stretch. Would you pay $700 for a PC that will last you maybe three years? Or would you pay $1,200 for a computer that you know will last you five years or longer? People buy Apple computer simply because they are of higher quality and simply last longer.

Ballmer just doesn’t get it. If he actually used an Apple computer for three months without touching a PC then maybe he would understand. I think this quote says it all though:

“You’re talking to a guy, though, whose dad worked for Ford, and once Ford sold Land Rover and Jaguar, we’re selling the cars to get Fords, so you may have a weird outlier in me.”

Yeah, because Jaquar is so anti-American, right? Why would it matter who owns the Land Rover line if they’re still manufacturing a quality product? Has Ballmer even driven a Jaguar? Hell, I’m a big VW guy and it doesn’t bother me at all that Porsche has a controlling share of both VW and Audi. If a company is highly innovative and producing a quality product, who cares who owns them?

While price matters, quality also matters. If you’re not producing a quality product, it doesn’t matter how cheap it is people simply won’t buy it. I don’t know about Ballmer, but I’m more than willing to spend a little more if it means getting something I’ll be more satisfied with in the long run. A quality product is a quality product, even in a bad economy.

Yep, this story just keeps getting better and better. Makes me completely sick to my stomach. I mean, regardless of whether these employees had a contract or not, the CEO could have reversed this decision and not pay these ridiculous bonuses. Getting government bailout funds is a highly extenuating circumstance and one that I feel should reverse any contracts that award any employees (or ex-employees) any bonuses like this. Sorry, there is absolutely no excuse for this. AIG took an action that was completely irresponsible. How can a bank claim to be in the shit and yet feel that it’s ok to payout millions in bonuses? Seriously…when the hell is the CEO of AIG gonna get fired?!

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Cough! [Spits out coffee.] WHAT?! I did just read that, right? Hold on…lemme read that again just to be sure…

Yep, I did read that right. Here’s part of their excuse:

The payments to 400 employees of the financial-services unit — some of whom no longer work at the insurer — were promised last year before the federal government bailout. Bonuses range from as little as $1,000 to as much as $6.5 million.

And then they go on to say:

[Chief Executive Edward] Liddy also pointed out he won’t receive a bonus and that the company cut bonus payments for it senior executives. The top 25 executives in the financial-product unit, moreover, have agreed to accept a salary of just $1 for the rest of 2009, his letter said.

Liddy needs to go away.  We own 80% of that company now. I say fire his ass!

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