Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Internet Is Not .gov’s to Regulate

Cato@Liberty - Imagine that Congress passed a law setting up a procedure that could require ordinary citizens like you to remove telephone numbers from your phone book or from the “contacts” list in your phone. What about a policy that cut off the phone lines to an entire building because some of its tenants used the phone to plot thefts or fraud? Would it be okay with you if the user of the numbers coming out of your phone records or the tenants of the cut-off building had been adjudged “rogue” users of the phone?

Cutting off phone lines is the closest familiar parallel to what Congress is considering in two bills nicknamed  “SOPA” and “PIPA”—the “Stop Online Piracy Act” and the “PROTECT IP Act.”

One of the major ideas behind SOPA and PIPA is to cut Internet sites that violate copyright out of the domain name system. No longer could typing “elcato.org” get you to the Web site you wanted to visit. Much of the debate has been about the legal process for determining whether to strike out a domain name. The practical burdens on the law-abiding Internet service provider would be large. “Blacking out” an entire building—just like a Web site—would cut off the lawful communications right along with the unlawful ones. It’s through-the-looking-glass information control, with enormous potential to obstruct entirely lawful communications and impinge on First Amendment rights.

The Internet is not the government’s to regulate. It is an agreement on a set of protocols—a language that computers use to talk to one another. That language is the envelope in which our communications—our First-Amendment-protected speech—travels in hundreds of different forms.

Under the better view—the view of freedom behind opposition to SOPA and PIPA—these things are not the government’s to regulate.

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Joe Knows Cake......


 Navy Specialist ready Vice President Joe Biden for a portion of cake and ice cream at First Lady Michelle Obama's White House Birthday celebration Tuesday Night. Biden wowed the guest by besting his record of eating 7 wax candles from the cake, two more than last year.
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The Lost Fossils of Charles Darwin

LONDON – British scientists have found scores of fossils the great evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin and his peers collected but that had been lost for more than 150 years. Dr. Howard Falcon-Lang, a paleontologist at Royal Holloway, University of London, said Tuesday that he stumbled upon the glass slides containing the fossils in an old wooden cabinet that had been shoved in a "gloomy corner" of the massive, drafty British Geological Survey.

The first slide pulled out of the dusty corner at the British Geological Survey turned out to be one of the specimens collected by Darwin during his famous expedition on the HMS Beagle, which changed the young Cambridge graduate's career and laid the foundation for his subsequent work on evolution."It took me a while just to convince myself that it was Darwin's signature on the slide," the paleontologist said, adding he soon realized it was a "quite important and overlooked" specimen. The slides -- "stunning works of art," according to Falcon-Lang -- contain bits of fossil wood and plants ground into thin sheets and affixed to glass in order to be studied under microscopes. Some of the slides are half a foot long (15 centimeters), "great big chunks of glass," Falcon-Lang said.

"How these things got overlooked for so long is a bit of a mystery itself," he mused, speculating that perhaps it was because Darwin was not widely known in 1846 so the collection might not have been given "the proper curatorial care.".....Read More

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Eleanor Roosevelt She Ain't

Arianna To MO: Watch The Bel Air Trips

The Radio Equalizer: From our establishment media friends, nearly every criticism of Michelle Obama these days is blamed on the usual vast, right-wing conspiracy. But what happens when objections come from the left?

During the most recent edition of Both Sides Now with Huffington and Matalin, co-host Arianna Huffington used the airwaves to let Michelle know she has appeared indifferent to suffering in America, focusing instead on hobnobbing with wealthy donors in Bel Air and elsewhere. She wondered, why not visit South-Central Los Angeles during one of these fundraising trips?
I'd love Michelle to be more like Eleanor Roosevelt right now, because the country needs an Eleanor Roosevelt who's going to go around and at the same time that she's doing fundraisers in Beverly Hills and Bel Air, she should go to South Central [Los Angeles], I mean, if I were Michelle Obama right now, I would not go anywhere for a fundraiser without going and seeing the places where there is pain, where there is struggle, where there is homelessness, where there is unemployment. - ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
This begs the question: is ALL criticism of Michelle Obama off-limits to our media friends, even when it comes from the left? And within the gushing "progressive" movement, is she above even constructive advice? Expect the usual approach from the left to this type of development: silence.
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Saturday, January 14, 2012

Educational Crash Course #92

Another Installment of Diogenes'
Public Service Educational Series:


"Psychoanalysis 101"

Next in Series: 'Anger Management' 
with Michelle Obama

Class Dismissed!
Educational Crash Course Series Archive

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Friday, January 13, 2012

The Iron Lady Shall Live On

"She has the mouth of Marilyn Monroe and the eyes of Caligula."
President Mitterand of France


Hollywood is not known for sympathetic portrayals of political figures, often injecting rumored or unproven incidents and fictional conversations. So when a left-wing Hollywood star sets aside her dignity to portray a right-wing heroine, odds are the result will irritate everyone. But surprisingly, 'The Iron Lady' is far better than I ever expected, particularly given that virtually the entire entertainment community from the east coast to Hollywood is liberal, a bias gleefully acknowledged by Meryl Streep, who gives an convincing performance as three-term British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. “I'm an actor and, you know, politically we're all on the other side.”

When Margaret Thatcher was first elected to Parliament in 1959, she entered a House of Commons that had 630 members, of whom 25 were female, which is about 24 more women than you would think were ever in any House of Commons during her political life should you see The Iron Lady. The filmmakers have resolved whatever dilemma they had with Mrs.Thatcher as heroine by presenting her life as a feminist struggle. There are no other visible female members of Parliament, only a sea of men. Being female was a liability, although class was the greater obstacle for Thatcher. She was so very lower middle class, a grocer's daughter who never quite lost her regional accent, never mind her chemistry degree from Oxford and her successful studies as a tax lawyer.

The framework of the film is Mrs. Thatcher in her declining years. She appears to have multi-infarct dementia, a decline of memory and intellectual faculties caused by tiny strokes, and believes her husband Denis to still be alive. One of history's ironic gifts to the left is that their greatest opponents, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, both after leaving office suffered from a mental disease. Nothing in the film tries to derive any advantage from this, but the choice to play out her extraordinary life over three days of this decline, after she had ceased to be a public player, is telling when you consider other legitimate angles that might have been chosen.

The year before Thatcher became prime minister, the country was in chaos, the dead unburied, doctors on strike, no bread one day, no newspapers the next. Thatcher reshaped society with secret strike votes for unions, privatized industry (except for the health service and the BBC) and lower taxes, which under the Labor Party could be as high as 98 per cent. She stood her ground and never flinched. Thus her great quote that doesn't make the film: “To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only this to say, ‘You turn if you want; the lady's not for turning. 

The film gives a moving glimpse of Thatcher's middle-England pillow-plumping kindness as she worries about Denis. She was the Iron Lady in power suits and evening gowns, even as she played a pivotal role in defeating Communism. But she remains more: a kind woman who forever overlooked the cruelty of her own children toward her and the cruelty of the world's caricatures. Now in her final years, she concentrates on small acts of kindness, real or imaginary.
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The Margaret Thatcher Foundation
Access to thousands of documents—many of them previously unpublished—relating to Margaret Thatcher and world events during the last thirty years.

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

One Ticket for the Crazy Train, Please.

It's still 300 days till the 2012 election, but already I sense the crazies coming down the track, at full speed. The comments coming from the Democrat mouth pieces in the media  are reflective of this observation.

Any casual political observer knows election years tend  to create a level of frenzy concerning the selection of the nominees and the outcome. The media feed this in order to keep readers reading and viewers viewing. The history of American elections has always been one of invective language between the parties, so there is nothing new about this. Indeed, since so much depends on it, the political free-for-all is a healthy exercise.

It can, however, make for a difficult environment in which to go about one’s media observations; the air filled with charge and counter-charge, polls going up and down, bias commentators and a general sense that something is very very wrong with our politicans and the way the government functions.

On the bright side, a gridlocked Congress may bring a measure of relief to everyone. Writing about gridlock in January 2011, Marcus E. Ethridge, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, noted that “By fostering gridlock, the U.S. Constitution increases the likelihood that policies will reflect broad, unorganized interests instead of the interests of narrow, organized groups.” In 2011, we saw what happens when advocates of “renewable energy”, wind and solar power, or electric cars, get priority over the needs of most Americans for reliable energy and transportation.

At the heart of the 2012 election will be the recognition that the economy is still not recovering, that government is seeking to extend and expand its control over our lives, and, even among former supporters of Barack Obama, that he has been a epic failure of historic proportions.

A recent Rasmussen Report said that “Voters right now give the edge to Republicans when asked which political party is likely to win the White House and control both the House of Representatives and the Senate in next November's election”, adding that “a lot of voters are undecided.” Those voters may actually wait until entering the polls to cast their vote.

 Another bad piece of news for O' is a new comparative analysis of current voter registration data in key electoral states of Nevada and North Carolina. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, there has been “a drastic drop from 2008 levels when a record-high proportion of young Americans turned out overwhelmingly to cast their votes to elect Obama as President.” This is significant because more than two-thirds of young voters supported the Obama/Biden ticket in 2008.

The President had a low moment following the passage of Obamacare that transformed itself into the Tea Party movement and an even worse one in 2010 when it propelled a large number of Republicans into the House of Representatives, causing its control to change hands. He has had, in fact, only one truly high moment and that occurred when he announced the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. At the time, he typically took complete credit. In a speech at Fort Bragg to returning troops from Iraq, the word “victory” was never spoken.

Americans are not unmindful that the downgrade of the rating of the nation’s sovereign debt, the first in the nation’s history, was announced on Obama’s watch. The rate of “official” unemployment has receded to 8.6% but most Americans are well aware that it is far closer to 11% or more. America continues to experience that longest period of long-term unemployment since the 1930s.

 For these and a myriad of other reasons, there is but little reason to conclude that President Obama has any good chance for reelected. The widespread contempt for Congress is also a hopeful sign for change. These are reasons to remain calm amidst the din of electioneering in the months ahead. As for me, I have reserved my ringside seat!
 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Time Out

Diogenes' Middle Finger is taking a little hiatus to do our yearly  computer operating system re-installs and Linux upgrade as well as little blog maintenance. Be right back........

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Saturday, January 7, 2012

Staff Prepares Obama's 2013 Agenda

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Friday, January 6, 2012

It's Fishnet Friday!

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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Barack Obama's Historic Firsts [Updated]

Doug Ross has compiled an updated list of "Firsts" by Commander Zero since assuming office three years ago. 
His complete list of Obama's stellar accomplishments can be seen here: President Barack Obama's Complete List of Historic Firsts [Updated] ,with  comments and the usual humorous  reactions of a few trolling lefties to boot.


"First President to Golf 90 or More Times in His First Three Years in Office......."
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Obama Puts Away Golf Clubs: Teleprompter Put on Full Alert

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will waste little time getting back in front of voters following a 10-day Hawaiian vacation spent largely out of the spotlight.

Air Force One landed just before daybreak in Washington on Tuesday morning after an overnight flight from the island of Oahu. The president is returning from vacation the same day Republican presidential candidates square off in the Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest of the 2012 campaign.

Obama plans to make his presence in the campaign known quickly.


Read more...



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The Audience Has Spoken: The Best of Diogenes 2011

Our Favorite Post of 2011
Submitted by Broadside Betty, Toots de la Foots and Tiger Rag



* Happy Presidents Day, Mr. President

* Obama Rejected by Dancing with the Stars

* Linden Borden for President

* Bumbling Barry's Bodaciously Bad Week

* An American Bowel Movement: The OWS Protest

* Republican Triumphs and Democrat Lies
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Sunday, January 1, 2012

The 2nd Annual G.T. Awards

It's indeed been an interesting year, and since it's time 
for year-end honors, we're proud to present: 
Diogenes' 2nd Annual Golden Turd Awards.

The soon to be highly coveted G.T.
So without further ado.....envelopes please.   

The “It Looked Better on Paper” Award:
AttackWatch.
Obama/Biden 2008 had some success with this same concept when it was known as FightTheSmears. The 2011 version, however, has been met with the one thing the Obama campaign hadn't anticipated: mockery. Conservatives and independents have had a field day “reporting” themselves and others on AttackWatch to the point no one but the die-hards take it seriously.


The Amy Winehouse Lifetime Achievement Award:
Arianna Huffington.
Take a struggling joke of an online service, combine it with a rich joke of a website editor, and what do you get? An epic fail. But at least Huffington came away with a ton of money for being ineffective and ham-fisted in her management. Way to be a credit to your gender!

The Dan Rather Award for “Excellence” in Media:
Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a tie!

*Ed Schultz.
Over the past two years, "Special Ed" Schultz has repeatedly put his foot in his mouth, apparently to prevent the truth from getting out. What has gotten out from Schultz is a steady string of ill-advised comments, out and out lies, and insane jealousy against conservatives in the media. Anger management classes would be more helpful to Schultz than giving him a daily and nightly forum from which to preach to an ever-dwindling audience.
And:
*The Right Reverend Al Sharpton
Well, what else can we say. MSNBC's affirmative action commentator's teleprompter skills and semi-lucid thought processes leave most of his audience of the basement rated program going WTF is he doing on TV?  Congratulations to MSNBC for sweeping this award category.


Democrats to Watch Award:
Any Democrat up for reelection in 2012.
From Obama/Biden 2012 on down to the city dog catcher, every Democrat is going to be scrutinized by the electorate. Why they're the ones to watch is to see how many are willing to be seen with the President and Vice President on the campaign trail. If they shun Obama and Biden, it doesn't bode well for the reelection chances.

The Joe Biden Public Orator Award:
The Crisco Kid - Debbie Wasserman-Schultz
From vapid Congresswoman who says the most stupid and unbelievable things to garner attention to…vapid DNC Chair who says the most stupid and unbelievable things to garner attention. Wasserman-Schultz makes Howard Dean's leadership look credible.


Republican to Forget Award:
John Boehner.
Over the past year, coal mines have caved in less frequently than the Speaker of the House has. As we move into the next Congressional session, there may be a movement afoot to have Boehner removed as Speaker, and I wouldn't cry any tears if it were successful. Boehner might, but then again he is the weepy type.


The Alec Baldwin Public Relations Award:
Alec Baldwin
It was unanimous!


The Black Hole of Obscurity Award:
Keith Olbermann
After embarrassing their sister network, NBC News, the overstuffed, arrogant and combative Keith (Bathtub Boy) Olbermann got canned by MSNBC.  Olbermann's pompous, and sometime unhinged smug world-class a**hole form of presentation were more than NBC and Comcast executives could take. After debuting to promising ratings on Al Gore's Current cable network in late June, Olbermann who is reported to make $10 million a year at Current ,  has never done better than its debut week on Gore's hard-to-find cable network.


Underreported Story Award:
The Cause Celebre
We honor the numerous Hollywood celebrities and musicians who jumped on the OWS bandwagon supporting the protest against the very banks that hold their millions and finance their boorish  projects. My Middle Finger salutes you all. Here is just one example.  



The 500 Pound Gorilla in the Room Award:
Scandals within the Obama Administration. 
Although President Obama has been touted as one of the smartest Presidents we've ever had *cough*, his Administration has been plagued by scandals, ranging from the relatively minor (Van Jones) to the more serious (Operation Fast and Furious). And let's not forget Solyndra. Far from being a right wing conspiracy, these scandals amount to rank incompetence, serious malfeasance, or both, and they're not going away anytime soon.


Missed Opportunity Award:
Republicans sticking up for black conservatives under fire. This past year, we've seen black Republicans, such as Herman Cain and Allen West, get clobbered in the media and the Democrats for various things. Yet, one group has been conspicuously absent when this has happened: the Republican Party. With Republicans being painted as racist for decades, this past year was a golden opportunity to turn that around and make Democrats and their pals in the media look like hypocrites. Instead, they sat on their hands. Way to bust those stereotypes!

The Whistle Pass the Grave Yard Award:
OWS Oakland.
After one of the largest comings out against big banks, where does OWS Oakland open up an account? Wells Fargo. Way to stick it to The Man, kids!


The Padded Resume Award:
Chelsea Clinton getting a job with NBC News.
Of course, she earned that gig because she did that…wait, it must have been that piece she wrote for…no, wait, it was because she went to college to study...okay, it's because she's a Clinton.


The 14:59 Award:
All things Kardashian.
When Kim Kardashian’s wedding lasted as long as a bad sitcom and had as many laughs, it’s clear the entire Kardashian 15 minutes of fame can't expire soon enough.


The Stuck on Stupid Award:
Eric Holder.
Barney Fife was a better law enforcement officer than Eric Holder is. Holder's record as Attorney General has been rife with inconsistency, incompetence, and illegality. And that's just Operation Fast and Furious!


The With Friends Like These Award:
The Obama Administration's treatment of Israel. Although it’s safe to say President Obama and Israel may not see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, it's also safe to say the President's not exactly a friend of Israel. Whether its the ill-conceived pre-1967 borders for Israel as a starting point to Middle East peace or the frequent anti-Israel sentiment coming from Administration officials from Obama on down, it’s clear Israel doesn't need any more friends like Obama.


The G.T. Photo Journalism Award of the Year:
Anthony Wiener
Oh how the mighty have fallen. After the verbose asshat New York congressman started sending out lude pictures of his undersized man parts to numerous people, then trying like a Kennedy to weasel out of it, he managed to give conservative bloggers a wealth of comic material unlike anyone this year.  Thank You again,Tony!


The Turdapalooza of the Year Award:
The Political Left
The Left wants to expand the number of people who can vote to include the homeless, ex-convicts, and illegal immigrants. A part of this effort includes making it as easy as possible for said potential voters to vote. What’s a major stumbling block to that effort? Requiring those silly little details like proving you’re an actual voter with a real address and that you look like the person you claim to be. So, when states do things to curtail that effort, the Left gets mad and decides to go after those states. And who needs a lot of help to get reelected and has the power to make it tough for states to enact these laws? Why, it's President Obama! Funny how that works out, isn't it?

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Thank You Larwyn for the Linkage!

Fuzzy's Best of 2011

Outside some well known conservative blog writers  out there these days, there are only a few I really admire. One for sure are the writings of "She of the Fuzzy Slippers", and her blog Fuzzy Logic.

Hers, being one of the first blogs I started reading early on, was a major influence in the start up and original serious content of Diogenes Middle finger (she holds no responsibility for it's insane direction since). A recovering liberal like myself, her  patriotic views, staunch support of the Tea Party, her no nonsense politics and well thought out positions on matters make it worth your visits to hear what she has to say. How her words have not caught the eyes of some of the more known bloggers is beyond me, and I hope that changes in the future. Give Fuzzy a visit and see what I believe is one of the more interesting Lady bloggers I've found to date. (and forgive me for not commenting more often, Fuzzy).
Below is a link to her most recent year end best of Fuzzy -

Fuzzy's Fab Five of 2011:
"It's that time again, so without further ado, here are the top Fuzzy Logic posts from 2011.........."

fuzislippers.blogspot.com
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