Daily Kos: State of the Nation

We’ve all been lied to, to the point of absurdity. These days, there is almost nothing true in what we are told. It saddens me, it humiliates me, and it angers me.

I am sad that we do not have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people as we were meant to have.

I am humiliated that the world knows America as a bully, an imperialist, and a torturer – and that after all that has been done; we may never salvage our national reputation again in my lifetime.

I am angry that our government represents the wealthy, the greedy, and the special interests – and that virtually no one represents the best interest of the American people – and that the lip service given to same always seems to boil down to the same old thing – bullshit.

I am heartsick that our founding fathers tried so hard to bequeath us a great nation, but because of greedy, immoral bastards like the Bushes, what we got instead was bullshit.

Its depressing when you think about it. I want to do something about it. Great article from KOS. Lots of good pics.

“U.S. Consumers are Likely Legally Purchasing Music From AllofMP3.com”

AllofMP3 wants US consumers to come back, although it is not clear how US consumers are supposed to pay for the music they download because earlier this year the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry convinced Mastercard and Visa to stop processing transactions from AllofMP3. Maybe they take IOUs?

The U.S. and Russia have agreed to combat piracy by closing down several websites that infringe copyrights, according to the document, which cites Allofmp3.com as a prime example of such a website.

It appears that Russia has agreed to close AllofMP3 according to US demands, to improve their chance of joining the WTO. I hope its not true. It was a good service to millions of US consumers who couldn’t afford $1 a song to get music to fill their ipod, which would have been thousands of dollars if they had bought it all through iTunes.

APCmag writes about how to protect yourself when using P2P software. It recommends using Peerguardian or Protowall if you running Windows and MoBlock if you are using Linux.

All radio should be broadcast via this method, if only the FCC would get off their ass and make all radio like this instead of letting a company get the monopoly on everything. Only stations who buy new equipment from the company iBiquity will be able to broadcast HD Radio streams. Also only listeners who upgrade their car or home stereo will be able to listen. So what do you get?

• “CD-quality” sound
• AM stations with better sound quality
• Traffic, stock and song info

It is like listening to the radio on the internet in your car. Imagine you are wardriving and have an internet connection and are able to dial-in to your favorite online radio station to listen. Except that none of the good online radio stations (radio paradise) are going to be using HD Radio. Which means there is still going to be a plethora of advertising like normal radio.

If they got rid of the advertising than HD Radio might be more attractive. XM or Sirius is worth it if you don’t like to listen to local stations with ads every 15 minutes.

Howstuffworks has an article on how HD radio works or you can read more about it on the HD Radio website, on and of course the wiki article.

Malachi Ritscher earned notoriety after he committed suicide by self-immolation on the side of the Kennedy Expressway near downtown Chicago during the morning rush hour of Friday November 3, 2006, apparently as a protest against the Iraq war and more generally “for the mayhem and turmoil caused by my country”. Ritscher’s suicide is one of only nine reported incidents of self-immolation performed as an act of protest in American history.

Could Hollywood hack your PC?

If you join the EFF you can fight against anti-consumer, anti-American bills like this one that big business tries to push the Legislature.

The ACLU is another good organization that defends the rights of Americans every day against Big Brother and evil business organizations like the RIAA.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, QOTSA, T.I. Rock For Zune

Yesterday, Microsoft agreed to share revenue from Zune sales with record labels and artists. Forcing the issue was Universal Music Group, which at deadline is the only label named in the program. UMG refused to license its music to the Zune unless it could receive a percentage of each device sold, in addition to standard music licensing fees for downloads and subscriptions. “These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it,” UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris says. “So it’s time to get paid for it.”

In typical RIAA fashion they accuse customers of stealing and force anyone they can to pay them money. This news of Microsoft paying off Universal because their device has the potential to store music that the customer either didn’t pay for or didn’t pay the extortionists “approved” price, is just a long line of news about how the RIAA screws over the American consumer.

Bloomberg.com

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, unable to fulfill U.S. goals in Iraq and Afghanistan during his tenure, is stepping down and will be replaced by former CIA Director Robert M. Gates

Wow what a day! We get a partisan government back and one of the scum bags responsible for Iraq is finially booted from office. Ya did more harm than good Rummy.

Here are some reactions from the Democrats:
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California (presumptive new Speaker of the House)
“I welcome this change. I think it will give a fresh start to finding a solution to Iraq rather than staying the course.”

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, Senate minority leader
“I recognize that the country’s going to be well-served with a new secretary of defense. I look forward to working with that person. But also, I look forward to working with the president to see if the new secretary of defense will help work to change course in Iraq. We have to do that.”

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
“Yesterday’s election was a cry for change and for the first time it looks like the president is listening. The nomination of a new Department of Defense secretary is a good first step, and we hope it is a sign that the president is looking toward a new course of action in Iraq. We look forward to working with him on an Iraq policy that is both strong and smart.”

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Missouri (possible future chairman of House Armed Services Committee)
“This change in leadership at the Department of Defense presents an important opportunity for our country to begin a new policy direction in Iraq and in the war on terrorism. I think it is critical that this change be more than just a different face on the old policy.