I’m from the government – Page 62

US FedGuv wipes out 10’s of thousands of blogs

dumbassery, Gah., I'm from the government, news, politics 5 Responses »

Jul 182010

Yikes:

http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-authorities-shut-down-wordpress-host-with-73000-blogs-100716/

After the U.S. Government took action against several sites connected to movie streaming recently, nerves are jangling over the possibility that this is just the beginning of a wider crackdown. Now it appears that a free blogging platform has been taken down by its hosting provider on orders from the U.S. authorities on grounds of “a history of abuse”. More than 73,000 blogs are out of action as a result.

It appears that some of the blogs hosted by Blogetery.com were being used for illegal file sharing. So the FedGuv took not only those blogs down… but *all* of them. Kinda like burning down a library because a few of the books were unauthorized copies. Additionally, it appears that the data for the blogs may be unrecoverable. Lost forever.

First Amendment implications? Oh, you betcha.

First thing I did when I read this was to download and use the “WP-DB-Backup” plugin for my WordPress blog and make a backup that I’ve downloaded. Disturbingly, it’s only 3.5 megabytes in size, so I’m guessing that it did not back up any of the images.

And So It Begins. Again.

AARRRGH, dumbassery, Gah., I'm from the government, Obamazombies, politics 5 Responses »

Jul 182010

One of the ways in which FDR helped to screw over the American populace was to make it illegal to own gold bullion and coins and certificates. And it wasn’t until Gerald Ford that people could own gold again. Well, it’s startign to look like we’re slipping back that way again:

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=11843

What has happened is that effective Jan. 1, 2012, the whole system of giving and receiving Internal Revenue Service 1099 forms will be turned on its head and all persons (including corporations) who are in business will now have to give 1099 tax reporting forms for coins and other goods that they sell as well as buy.

The responsibility for issuing forms kicks in at $600 for coins or bullion – not a very high level and one that has already started sounding alarm bells. It doesn’t matter in what form payment is made, whether cash, check, credit card, or Yap stone money, the $600 threshold applies.

Translation: the buying or selling of a one-ounce gold coin – which last I check would run you about $1200 – would require that the IRS be informed. And in what financial reform law is this new regualtion installed within? Why, Section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), of course!

What in the hell is this doing in a health care law?

Genius: Two Birds With One Stone

blather, I'm from the government, news 4 Responses »

Jul 132010

Problem 1: NASA needs an “ethnic female” robot:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=34482

NASA/DFRC has a requirement for (quantity 2) Interactive Robot Characters with accessories.

The specifications are: Two different interactive robot chadd additional comfort to a more diverse audience racters will be required for usage with the varied targeted audiences. One male “wise-looking” robot such will be suitable for all audiences whereby a female of somewhat ethnic background may add additional comfort to a more diverse audience or when wanting a female to speak at an all female event.

Problem 2: NASA needs Muslim Outreach (although the White House is backing away from that, and basically calling NASA Admin Bolden a liar).

Now, I’ve seen robots that are made to look like humans. So far, they kinda suck. They’re not even at Uncanny Valley yet… just “overpriced sex doll valley.” The supposed purpose of the ethnic female robot is to “add additional comfort to a more diverse audience.” And yet, I’ve never seen a humanoid bot that would “add comfort” to much of anything… at best they add confusion and awkwardness. They may be modeled to have an external rubber mask that can be quite humanlike, but as soon as they open their yap or start “emoting,” they just look wrong.

How to solve all these issues?

Easy! NASA just need to make the “ethnic female” robot into a fundamentalist Muslim ethnic female robot! Once it’s done up in that Ninja/Sith getup, the lack of any human-ness becomes moot.

Quick! Which one’s the robot? You can’t tell, can you. So, NASA, when you get yout “ethnic female robot,” and test runs show it to be pretty unimpressive, just throw a tarp over it and cut some eyeholes (or not), and you’ll be good to go!

See? They’re even giving drivers licences to Terminators these days:

This is exactly the sort of thinking that NASA doesn’t seem to have these days. If they’d just hire me (I’d be a cheap consultant, no more thant $150/hour), I could solve *all* their problems for ’em.

Oh how I miss Mike Griffin

awesomeness, blather, dumbassery, Gah., I'm from the government, news, Obamazombies, politics, religion, spacecraft 9 Responses »

Jul 062010

One can certainly argue with much of Griffin’s approach… choosing a specific launch architecture before the mission to the Moon and Mars was really worked out was not a spectacular strategy. But he did at least have the vision to push for such missions… a vision obviously lacking in the current NASA/White House administration. Plus, he’s capable of seeing the obvious:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/06/nasa-official-walks-claim-muslim-outreach-foremost-mission/

Griffin said Tuesday that collaboration with other countries, including Muslim nations, is welcome and should be encouraged — but that it would be a mistake to prioritize that over NASA’s “fundamental mission” of space exploration.

“If by doing great things, people are inspired, well then that’s wonderful,” Griffin said. “If you get it in the wrong order … it becomes an empty shell.”

Griffin added: “That is exactly what is in danger of happening.”

He also said that while welcome, Muslim-nation cooperation is not vital for U.S. advancements in space exploration.

“There is no technology they have that we need,” Griffin said.

Got it in one.

And Bolden has uttered his rubbish before:

A Feb. 16 blog in the Orlando Sentinel reported that Bolden discussed the outreach during a lecture to engineering students. As he did in the interview with Al Jazeera last month, Bolden was quoted then saying Obama told him to “find ways to reach out to dominantly Muslim countries.”

He reportedly talked about the importance of helping countries establish space programs and pointed to the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia, as a possible partner.

Indonesia? INDO-FRIKKEN’-NESIA?!?!?! What can they possibly have that we need… or that would make the sending of Americans to Mars substantially easier?

Not What I Went To Engineering College For

AARRRGH, blather, dumbassery, Gah., history, I'm from the government, news, nukes, Obamazombies, politics, religion, spacecraft 23 Responses »

Jul 052010

I spent a whole lotta years and a whole lotta my parents money getting an aerospace engineering degree in the first half of the 1990’s, because for some reason I was just sure that we were going to go off into space and people like myself would be needed to design the numerous manned spacecraft that would be required. Little did I know that the American aerospace engineering industry had no interest in designing any such thing (much less building such things). And little could I have imagined that fifteen years after getting my degree, the American government would essentially abandon manned spaceflight. With the mind-boggling damage that the FedGov has done to the American economy, they’ve also done a most effective job at wiping out any real prospects for private spaceflight to take up the slack.

So, imagine my irritation upon reading that not only has NASA been neutered and gutted, it’s being turned into yet another arm of the government meant for little more than surrendering to our enemies:

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his “foremost” mission as the head of America’s space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world. … “When I became the NASA administrator — or before I became the NASA administrator — he charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science … and math and engineering,” Bolden said in the interview.

First and foremost, Chuck, it’s not the role of the US Government, never mind NASA, to make people in other nations “feel good” about something their ancestors may or may not have done the better part of a millenium ago. Second, if you want to inspire the kiddies… wiping out manned spaceflight is not the way to do it.

He said the United States is not going to travel beyond low-Earth orbit on its own

Grrrrrrrrrraaaaaauuuuck.

I cannot express just how much this Royally Pisses Me Off.

The United States travelled beyond low Earth orbit on its own forty fricken’ years ago. it is perfectly capable of doing so again. But *not* when it’s being run by incompetant jackasses like Bolden and whatever MORON installed him in that position. Telling Americans that we are incapable of doing what our ancestors did, and begging for help from those who would see us destroyed, is not the job of the NASA administrator.

The NASA administrator should be out there beating the drums for American exceptionalism. Telling us not that our time is over, but that the future is limitless, and that we should be grabbing for it.

More Immigration FAIL

AARRRGH, blather, dumbassery, Gah., I'm from the government, news, politics 5 Responses »

Jul 042010

So, what do we know about the state of immigration law today? On the one hand, we have millions (somewhere between 11 and 30 million) of people who came here illegally and are draining the economy dry. So what is the Presidents response to this?

if the majority of Americans are skeptical of a blanket amnesty, they are also skeptical that it is possible to round up and deport 11 million people. They know it’s not possible. Such an effort would be logistically impossible and wildly expensive. Moreover, it would tear at the very fabric of this nation -– because immigrants who are here illegally are now intricately woven into that fabric.

OK, so deporting *criminals* is apparently a bad idea. How about *legal* immigrants, here workign within the system and running a successful, popular business? Oh, hell yeah, lets deport THEM!

Established Maine couple kicked out of US

A York county couple, originally from England, is about to be kicked out of the country.
For a decade, Dean and Laura frank built up “Laura’s Kitchen,” a small, but popular local restaurant in Wells, now shuttered and for sale.
That’s because the “E-2” visa they’d legally had for years — twice renewed with no problem– was suddenly denied last year.
The reason — an immigration case worker in California reviewing their numbers declared their business “marginal,” not profitable enough, even though they made enough to run the business, live virtually debt free and employ local people part-time.

Ye gods. How’s about we deport the illegals *and* the bureaucrats? We could use immigrants who want to come here and run good businesses. We have much less need of the millions of illegals who are doign jobs that would be better done by high school dropouts and criminals.

Todays Embarassing Congresscritter

blather, dumbassery, Gah., I'm from the government, news, politics 6 Responses »

Jun 182010

Republican Cliff Stearns of Florida grilled BP’s Tony Hayward yesterday and made an utter ass of himself.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/18/hawyard_testimony

REP. CLIFF STEARNS: The people of Florida, when I talk to them and they say there’s oil spilling on the coast, would it be appropriate to say that it’s because of BP’s reckless behavior? Yes or no?

TONY HAYWARD: It is a consequence of a big accident.

REP. CLIFF STEARNS: No, yes or no? Reckless behavior or not?

TONY HAYWARD: There is no evidence of reckless behavior.

REP. CLIFF STEARNS: So, you’re standing here, you’re saying here today that BP had no reckless behavior? That’s your position. Yes?

TONY HAYWARD: There is no evidence of reckless behavior.

REP. CLIFF STEARNS: No, yes or no? You’re saying BP has had no reckless behavior, is what you’re saying to us.

TONY HAYWARD: I have seen no evidence of reckless behavior.

REP. CLIFF STEARNS: OK. So you’re on record saying there’s been no reckless behavior. Has anyone in BP been fired because of this incident? Anybody?

TONY HAYWARD: Not—

REP. CLIFF STEARNS: Yes or no?

TONY HAYWARD: No, so far.

REP. CLIFF STEARNS: No people have been fired. So, your captain of the ship runs into New Orleans, spews all this oil, causes all this damage, from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and no one’s been fired?

TONY HAYWARD: Our investigation is ongoing.

REP. CLIFF STEARNS: So, let’s say the investigation goes for three years. Does that mean you wouldn’t fire anybody?

TONY HAYWARD: As the investigation draws conclusions, we will take the necessary action.

It’s not a good thing to outright *lie* in such a public forum with the cameras running. While Hayward seems to have been kind of a dumbass with respect to PR, note that in this exchange at least he couched his answers in very reasonable and respectable terms. He never said that there was no recklessness, just that he hasn’t seen *evidence* of recklessness. But Stearns outright lied and claimed that Hayward had said something quite different.

This exchange is reason number four bagrillion why federal officeholders need to be term limited… preferably to a single term. This hearing is not meant to accomplish a damn thing except to give these political yahoos a soapbox to stand on and blart, in the hopes that they’ll blart something that’ll make the electorate think that they are jsut neato keen and should be re-elected.

When Congressmen Attack

dumbassery, Gah., I'm from the government, news, politics 5 Responses »

Jun 142010

OK, now this is just weirdo-bizarre. Democrat Congresscritter Bob Etheridge of North Carolina is walking down the sidewalk in DC when a couple of college students point a camera at him and start asking questions (“Do you fully support the Obama agenda”). This is the sort of thing that most politicians eat up with a spoon.

Typical response: “Oh, boy, I get to be on camera!”

So how does Etheridge respond?

Physical assault.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v60oNUoHBYM

It’s hard for me to explain this behavior without reference, at some point, to “boooooze.”

Via:

http://beforeitsnews.com/news/78/588/Dem._Congressman_Assaults_Student_Questioning_His_Loyalty_to_Obamas_Agenda.html

UPDATE: Etheridge gives a lame attempt at appologizing in a brief press conference:

He says “I appologize” and “no excuse” a lot, but never the best words a man in his position can say: “I resign, asit’s clear that since I’m incapable of lawful behavior in polite society, I should have no role in creating the law.”

Done in your name, eh…

AARRRGH, dumbassery, Gah., I'm from the government, projects 9 Responses »

May 082010

And the hits just keep on a’comin’…

http://www.thespec.com/article/764809

Hamilton’s police chief admits they got the wrong apartment and the wrong man when officers burst into the home of an unsuspecting refugee from Myanmar who was left terrified and bloodied.

Heavily armed officers were looking for an alleged cocaine dealer who lives in a different unit in the same apartment building as 58-year-old Po La Hay and his two adult children. … Officers handcuffed him and asked if he was the man listed on their warrant, he said. When he said, “No, my name is Po La,” Hay claims officers smashed his face on the floor and began kicking him. … He has stitches above his left eye, a bruised and bloodied nose and red marks along his back and side. He said one rib is broken and he will have to return to doctors for more tests. He looks less than 100 pounds.

Good job, Officer Friendly. Oh, and the real kicker? The city of “Hamilton” is actually Hamilton, Ontario. As in Canada. So once again people are getting their asses kicked by Big Government because people are willingly buying products for their own use and enjoyment.

Who Didn’t See This Coming??

blather, Gah., I'm from the government, news, Obamazombies, politics 7 Responses »

May 072010

Remember when Obama & Co. keep yammering about how great Obamacare was going to be, and how health care coverage was going to get so much better, and how is *wasn’t* a socialist takeover and nationalization of the health care industry? How citizens who liked their current health care coverage would be able to keep it? Ah, good times, good times…

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/05/news/companies/dropping_benefits.fortune/index.htm

Internal documents recently reviewed by Fortune, originally requested by Congress, show what the bill’s critics predicted, and what its champions dreaded: many large companies are examining a course that was heretofore unthinkable, dumping the health care coverage they provide to their workers in exchange for paying penalty fees to the government.

That would dismantle the employer-based system that has reigned since World War II. It would also seem to contradict President Obama’s statements that Americans who like their current plans could keep them. And as we’ll see, it would hugely magnify the projected costs for the bill, which controls deficits only by assuming that America’s employers would remain the backbone of the nation’s health care system.

Long story short… AT&T, Verizon, John Deere and Caterpillar each ran the numbers and have found that it would be cheaper to simply dump health care coverage for their employers and pay the fines instead.

The end result of this is that major companies are going to get out of the health care coverage business for their employees, and those employees will now most likely be stuck with government health care… costly, crappy, communal coverage. And it’s a good question as to *why* employers have been stuck with the requirement to cover employees at all. Are employers legally responsible for employee mortgages as well? Gas bills? Phone bills? Food bills? Why not jsut pay people their wages, and let them buy their own stuff?

But since this has been a generations-long trend, there will be millions of people suddenly dumped into the governments lap with no understanding of how to take care of themselves… and they will have little choice but to turn to Uncle Sam.

Which, I imagine, was the point all along. Some may think of this as “unintended consequences,” but I have the feeling that these are the intended consequences.

Greece, here we come…

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