Swimming In Oil
Thomas Friedman writes in today's NY Times that President Bush's State of the Union speech should come out with Kennedyesqe mandate to energy independent.
Friedman writes as though this is truly something Bush could do.
He also thinks Bush should announce the resignation of Dick Cheney and replace him with GE C.E.O. Jeffery Immelt.
While this is all good and well, there are two problems with this.
1. Bush is swimming in oil just as much as Cheney. He has gills and can breath the stuff. He can let go of this stuff about as easily as we can the air we breath.
2. Replacing Cheney with Immelt would be a change in name only. Claiming your company is Green and Eco-Friendly is a great way to change your image. GE's slogan is ECOmagination. These words don't really mean anything it's all just marketing.
Wired In Minneapolis
The city of Minneapolis is about to award either Earthlink or U.S. Internet a project for a citywide wireless network. The lucky winner would be the owner of a network that would provide service to the city, it's school and libraries. They would also be able to provide wireless internet service to the city's citizens, businesses and visitors.
The catch to all of this is that there has been no public input into this project. In April 2005 the city announced a Request For Proposal (RFP) rom private companies willing to finance, build, own and operate a citywide wireless network.
In October 2005 the city narrowed the choice down to the two companies and will make its final choice soon.
The real debate here is whether the city should enter a venture in which they are at the control of a private company over pricing and bandwidth. There have been a number of cities that have built and own their own network, controlling their own pricing and bandwidth.
If the city built their own network they would then be able to outsource the management and maintenance of the services.
I haven't decided which way I would like to see this go, but shouldn't there at least be some input by the public. This would make sure all of the right questions are asked.
The last thing we want is for the city to get into another long term agreement like the one they have with Time Warner. The city has had to sue Time Warner for using bandwidth that was supposed to be used/set aside for city use.
People have told me that this would be no different than our electricity or heating gas service that we get from private companies. I don't know about anyone else but the last time I looked at my natural gas bill it was through the roof.
Great Sites of the Month
It's Friday and I've spent too much time surfin'. Here is the best of what I've found this week.
Minimum Security is a great political cartoon from Stephanie McMillan.
If you love Garage Rock then you will like Little Steven's Underground Garage. Stevie as you might know is a member of the E-Street band and on the show The Sopranos. His show is a mix of old and new garage rock.
Elbo.ws is a MP3 blog Aggregator, meaning that it pulls together a bunch of MP3 blogs into one list. It is a quick way to sample a good variety of music.
Embarrassed and Disappointed
Poor poor Oprah. Don't you feel bad for her. She was hoodwinked and now she tells us she is embarrassed and disappointed. I'm sure she will lose months of sleep over this.
Now as for me, I'm a huge fan of the scam. Anyone who can create such a huge uproar and then increase his sales ought to be revered. This is the American Way.
As for the readers of this book, you got what you deserve. Oprah is making money off of this, James Frey is making his and Doubleday is making theirs.
I really hope in the end the James Frey is able to write a book about this experience and then make it a best seller. I really enjoy how relaxed he seems to be through all of this.
Ha, ha, ha, ha. Did you ever get the feeling you've been cheated.
Pop Culture Wars
Literary magazine, Barrelhouse, is having a pop culture essay contest. Also Ian MacKaye is interviewed on their site. Ian's last line of the interview is "I could give a fuck about pop culture. I’m just not interested in it."
Judgemental: Not Me
Maybe my brother will change his mind about BSG now that the New Yorker has written about it.
Real Photo Journalism for Serious Times
I don't need a website that fills in the blanks for me and I'm not looking for all answers. I just want a site that will shove me when I think I know it all and kick me when I feel like giving up.
R.I.O.T.D. is that site.
Comics Special from the Chicago Reader
The Chicago Reader has a great roundup of local comics available as a pdf. The quality is mixed but the good ones are great.
Larry is for Gay this and Gay that…
You can call Larry David homophobic but he doesn't care, he isn't going to Brokeback Mountain. Story here.
