Stephen Colbert, of the Colbert Report, has recently announced his bid for the presidency of the United States. And the great thing about this is that no one knows how far he’ll take this, or if he’s truly in it.
In another stunning move, Germany becomes even less popular amongst the tech-savvy populace by cracking down on the copying of anything film or music related… even for personal use.
Here is another great moment in Alabama politics. A Republican Senator decked a Democratic Senator “upside the head” after the Democratic Senator called the other gentleman’s mother a “bitch.”
The 69-year-old Bishop said he punched Barron, 65, in the head after the senator called him a “son of a bitch.” “I responded to his comment with my right hand,” Bishop said.
Apparently, the rest of the Senate stood around chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!”.
From the “I’m Taking My Ball and Going Home” department…
After losing a string of embarrassing votes on the House floor because of procedural maneuvering, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has decided to change the current House Rules to completely shut down the floor to the minority.
So instead of working within the rules to collaborate with her opponents to get the job done, Speaker Pelosi has decided to change the rules to suit her needs.
Good job…
Well, did it? We Americas are making a list and checking it twice - trying to find out who’s naughty or nice… at least, in terms of piracy and all. I mean, we’re all about protecting our money and all.
Anyway, I digress. FoxNews, my news source du jour, reports of the US additions to the Copyright Piracy List. I, for one, have never heard of said list before, but it sounds important. Apparently, if you are on this list, you may not get invited to the World Trade Organization Christmas party this year. (more…)
For those of you supporting Free The Hops, you can rejoice in knowing that we are one step closer to setting them free. The
Alabama House Travel and Tourism Committee has passed a bill allowing for the sale of “gourmet” beers in Alabama along to the Alabama House.
The bill would raise alcohol limits from 6% to over double that amount, 14.9%. Also, it would remove the 16oz container restriction currently in place.
Let’s hear it for Alabama getting with the program along with 46 other states of the union.
I just read this article regarding US corporations having to now record and archive every IM and email generated by their employees for potential use during discovery periods of litigation. Maybe I misinterpreted what I read. From the article:
U.S. companies will need to keep track of all the e-mails, instant messages and other electronic documents generated by their employees thanks to new federal rules that go into effect Friday, legal experts say.
The rules, approved by the Supreme Court in April, require companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce “electronically stored information” as part of the discovery process, when evidence is shared by both sides before a trial.
The change makes it more important for companies to know what electronic information they have and where. Under the new rules, an information technology employee who routinely copies over a backup computer tape could be committing the equivalent of “virtual shredding,” said Alvin F. Lindsay, a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP and expert on technology and litigation.
I can understand why this is important and everything. I know that these situations are generally covered in the terms of use agreements signed by new hires. I just think that many people don’t actually realize what this truly means. Personal emails - archived. Personal IM’s - archived. Granted, you should always limit your personal use of business networks, but just be aware, the wires have ears… and they are not quick to forget.
Read the article here: My Way News
Ok, so I read various sources of news, editorials, and commentaries. Lou Dobbs, of CNN, has a fairly interesting commentary on the War on the Middle Class. It has put me on a quest to learn more about what is going on in Washington and with our political leaders. I encourage you to read his thoughts with an open mind and at least consider what he is saying. It’s not without its bias, but it is interesting.
Once you’ve read it, come back here and post your thoughts.
Here is the link:
Dobbs: Middle class needs to fight back now
It looks like legislation has entered Congress to do away with the beloved penny. It seems someone tried to do this in the past, 2001 to be exact, and failed. Here are a couple of links:
http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=136546http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/18/news/penny/index.htm?cnn=yes
Ok, so Rep Jim Kolbe of Arizona has introduced this bill that will effectively kill the penny. Now, I don’t rightly care about the penny itself… because I don’t like carrying them in my pockets when I do happen to use cash for a purchase. However, what I do mind it the whole idea of “rounding” all purchases, which is the main purpose of this bill, the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation Act. The COIN Act… clever, eh?
So, by definition of this bill, all items with a price ending with 1 or 2 cents will be rounded down to 0. Those ending with 3 or 4 cents will be rounded up to 5 cents. Those ending with 6 or 7 cents will be rounded down to 5 cents. And, finally, those ending with 8 or 9 cents will be rounded up to 0 cents. Let’s list some pros and cons of this…
 

