Slashdot Mirror
Licensing Computer Techs As TV Repairmen
An anonymous reader writes "According to a story in yesterday's New Orleans paper, the Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board has sent letters to computer techs demanding fees to license them as radio and TV repairmen. Apparently, as computers drive more home theater applications, the board is trying to classify them as 'playback and recording device equipment,' which the law gives the board power to regulate. It looks more like a money grab, though, since no test is required, just $55 and an affidavit." It seems to me the better question is not whether computers can be defined in many circumstances as playback and recording equipment (hard to get around), but whether this kind of forced classification makes sense in the first place. Disingenuous quote of the day: "We're not trying to swing our arm around a whole bunch of people to get new revenue."
Y'all send in them checks, ya hear?
Yours Truly,
The Fatty McTax.
"Awright, it's out there on the grass, yew juss fixit and then back away from it, slow like."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Computer techs hit with fee for license
But it's coming from radio, TV industry
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
By Stewart Yerton
Business writer
For the past five years, Jarrod Broussard has run a small computer consulting company, helping business and residential customers deal with a host of problems: from designing Web sites and hosting them, to setting up networks, to troubleshooting software problems and eliminating the viruses that often plague today's computers.
To Broussard, such work made him a computer technician, plain and simple. But according to a notice sent to Broussard last week from the Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board, state regulators have a different view of Broussard and others like him.
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According to a letter from the regulators, Broussard actually falls under the same regulatory umbrella as a TV repairman.
As home computers come to the fore as entertainment devices, powering home theaters, audio systems and the like, the Radio and Television Technicians Board is seeking to license computer technicians much the way it has licensed television and radio repair workers since the 1950s.
To that end, the board last week informed Broussard that he would have to send the board $55 and an affidavit from an employer, customer or computer school attesting that he was a computer consultant. In exchange, Broussard would receive his license.
Mark Lewis, president of the Louisiana Technology Council, a trade association based in New Orleans, said he finds the situation absurd.
"They're taking a law passed when computers weren't even around and applying it to computers," Lewis said. "The whole thing is mind-boggling to me -- how they could come up with something like this?"
According to the letter sent to Broussard, the rationale is straightforward. Louisiana consumer protection laws give the board the power to license people who repair televisions, radios and "playback and recording device equipment" used in the home, the letter said. "Many home computers today, provide for television reception and recording, and all provide audio/visual playback and recording capabilities," the letter continued.
"Therefore," the letter said, "the Board has elected to license computer technicians."
The requirement would apply to people "engaged in the repair, maintenance, consultation, or training of computer equipment, including hardware, peripherals, and networks used in the home," the letter said. Commercial computer technicians are not subject to the new requirement, although individuals who provide both commercial and residential services have to comply.
Computer technicians already in the business would be grandfathered into the system and not required to take a test proving competency to obtain a license, the letter said. Payment of $55 to the board and the affidavit would be sufficient.
Stanley Brohn, secretary of the Radio and Television Technicians Board, said the intent and scope of the licensing requirement has been misunderstood. The licensing requirement, Brohn said, is designed to protect consumers who have hired computer technicians to install or repair new entertainment systems that employ computers.
For example, Brohn said, some high definition television monitors are designed to be driven by computers, and in such instances, the work should be done by a certified television and radio technician to ensure that the expensive equipment is not damaged, Brohn said.
"We're not going after computer technicians," he said. "The only thing we're doing is giving an opportunity for computer technicians to get into the radio and television side of the business."
Brohn said the letter sent to Broussard and others was misleading in stating that the license requirement would apply to a broad range of computer technicians and consultants, and not simply those wanting to set up home entertainment systems.
Brohn confirmed that he signed the letter but said
For $55, you get to say that you are a licensed computer repairperson.
It would make one stand out amongst competition.
That seems like a good deal to me.
Louisiana is also attempting to force lawyers to license themselves as garbage collectors. Surprisingly, the Louisiana Bar Association, when asked for comment, indicated that they agreed with the decision.
and most TV repairmen can't fix computers.
It's obviously a way to try to grap money.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Technically, in California you have to be a licensed appliance and electronics repair person already. It's just not enforced (that wouldn't go over well in San Jose). I wish I had time to find a better link to source, but here's a link.
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
Since the radio is just a component of the car, the car as a whole could be considered a playback device. Are they sending this extortion attempt to car mechanics? No? Funny that...
---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
It works both ways, A+ for the TV guy and TV license for computer tech.
Nothing against tv repair men, it is a very technical skill in many respects, but i didnt pay $28,000 for 4 years of school to be registered as a tv repair man.
It follows a disturbing pattern of "licensing for no purpose" that has been firmly established as standard operating procedure in this country for decades. We license driving, marriage, fishing, hunting, and now WORKING? What's next? An oxygen license? I hope plenty of IT workers stand up and say "hell no" in a massive act of civil disobedience. For that matter, let the TV and radio guys do it too!
There is a difference between "insightful" and "inciteful" other than spelling.
I'd think there'd be a big difference between someone licensed to repair computers, and someone who repaired computers who was licensed to repair television sets.
Whats next automechanics having to get licenses as ferriers to change tires?
Computer techs SHOULD be licensed. I would EASILY pay double if I knew that they were licensed and presumably accredited.
"That is the problem with a grandfather clause," he said. "There is nothing that we can do about that."
Sure there is, don't license computer technicians!
-- johntracy.com, because everybody else is wrong.
This is same sort of stupid stuff that Alabama pulls. They charge a licensing fee to sell calculators in the state. This is from a law made in the 1800's when cash registers were introduced. I think politicians thought "if it takes money, we should get some of it." They threw "them thar' cal-u-lating machines" in since they can be used to calculate money.
So when is the Hawkeye movie coming out?
"We are, however, quite diligently working on swinging our arm around $55!"
According the the RIAA, MPAA, the NFL, and several other entertainment groups, playing broadcasted or distributed entertainment on a computer is against the law....
...So how can a local government body issue people a license to repair lawbreaking equipment?
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
Of course, the idea of licensing TV repairmen is neither more nor less insane than the idea of calling computer repairmen TV repairmen. All it accomplishes is to restrict the supply and drive up the prices, hurting the very public it was ``supposed to protect''.
See what I've been reading.
VOTE LIBERTARIAN, Louisiana
-- I could tell right away that she was impressed with my HUGE Slashdot Karma.
i think it's a great idea, given proper expansion. for instance, i'd be willing to pay $100 if i could call myself a doctor and get paid like one. or for $75 you could call yourself a pilot and get to fly around. of course, becoming a lawyer would be free, just as encouragement.
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.
-Oscar Wilde
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A license is legal permission for you to do something because you have passed a standard test to prove you are competent (eg pilot, driver, doctor etc) this isnt a license. He should sue them saying that its not a license and demand they change the name to "membership" then pay it out of the winnings.
I am a lawyer because some guy on AIM said i was good with that sort of stuff.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Go run for office and fix it already!
Anyway, I *like* that there is a driving license. I wish it were *more* difficult.
Marriage... that one is less useful now than it might have been 100 years ago. And with common law marriages, quite useless, though lots of states don't recognize common law marriage.
Fishing and hunting I'll agree too as I don't think we should have unlicensed folk with guns shooting at things. At the least, it limits them.
Essentially licensing is a force to limit, and in certain things I think that's good.
GPL Deconstructed
I gouge customers for much more than that on a daily basis.
The tv repair man producing his tools and getting it from the lady of the house and 2 of her most intimate friends was a fantasy but a geek connecting his laptop to the tv and getting the same treatment is just so not going to happen.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
Who is John Galt?
There is no nonsense so errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.
Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)
For every action there is an equal and opposite government program.
Bob Wells
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.
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After two years in Washington, I often long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood.
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You know what's interesting about Washington? It's the kind of place where second-guessing has become second nature.
George W. Bush, Speech on May 17, 2002
Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.
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I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Whenever you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship.
Harry S Truman (1884 - 1972), Lecture at Columbia University, 28 Apr. 1959
You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - )
The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.
P. J. O'Rourke (1947 - )
Sure there are dishonest men in local government. But there are dishonest men in national government too.
Richard M. Nixon (1913 - 1994)
So they [the Government] go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965), Hansard, November 12, 1936
Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.
Tom Robbins (1936 - )
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
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I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
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There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.
Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.
William H. Borah
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Like this isn't what will happen anyway.
I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
During either the DeCSS suit, the DMCA hearings, or a RIAA/MPAA suit (I can't remember which), the court specifically ruled that computers were not playback and recording devices and thus did not fall into the realm of protected devices for fair use copying.
Either computers are not such devices as the court ruling indicated, and thus this money grab is illegal, or computers are such devices and thus protected by fair use copying exemptions to the chagrin of the RIAA/MPAA.
For those of you,
Who are staring down the double barreled outsourcing monster you might want to consider a talent for fixing TVs as a godsend.
I mean, who in their right mind is gonna ship a 60 inch plasma TV to india for repair? Gotta be done locally, get the drift....
Plus, from everything I've ever seen those TV repair guys make some pretty good dough while getting to play with all kinds of electronic gadgetry.
Caution: Contents under pressure
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/071504/opi_edi 2001.shtml
According to a story in yesterday's New Orleans paper
It has a name, you know: the Times-Picayune. A little respect, please.
Anyway, it sounds just like our corrupt idiot-officials.
Brohn confirmed that he signed the letter but said he didn't write it.
"That wasn't my choice of words," he said.
Dear Mr. Brohn...
Take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut.
Oh, don't like that? Sorry, not my words, I just added my name to 'em for this post. You'll have to take the issue up with Kurt Vonnegut.
What do you expect from a state government (laugh) that also sells out as the nations landfill.
"We're not going after computer technicians," he said. "The only thing we're doing is giving an opportunity for computer technicians to get into the radio and television side of the business."
Who wants to miss such a great opportunity?
Privacy is terrorism.
Just as long as tv and radio repair(wo)men are not classified as pc repair we should be ok.
Its kinda like the govmernment sponsored monopoly the AMA, and the state bar have on law and medicine.
I saw this kind of change happening about a year ago. When I ran the idea past my other IT oriented buddies, they laughed at me.
How insane it was that computer technical services would be in the same bag as TV repairmen.
Not meaning any disrespect to TV repairmen, obviously.
Your mother.
I have always heard rumors of Marijuana Tax Stamps and the like, so I did a little googling. Here's a random sample from Kansas:
There is other text http://www.ksrevenue.org/faqs-abcdrugtax.htm for your amusement.How does the Slashdot Effect happen given that no slashdotters ever RTFA?
That's the same state that decided to pick between a KKK member and a known crook for governor in 1991. It's a nice place to visit... I guess it's to their credit that the crook won by an extremely narrow margin??
What specific actions constitute a "repair"?
Backing up a hard drive?
Swapping one hard drive for another?
Swapping one hard drive for another because the first had failed?
Re-installing Windows?
Replacing Windows with Linux?
Modifying the Windows registry?
Unplugging one mouse and plugging in another?
Brushing dirt from the lens of a (optical) mouse?
Moving files around?
There are so many ways that a computer can "break" that don't require getting out your soldering iron... I'd think it'd be difficult to differentiate between someone who "repairs" computers and someone who "supports" computers.
Perhaps I've been lucky (knock on wood) but TVs seem to last a long time with little maintenance. I figure when a TV finally does bite the dust, its served its lifetime well and about time to buy a new one anyway. People aren't calling repairmen to fix knob-controlled tv's embededded into wood frames are they? (wish they had kept the form design around though)
$cat
...and i can honestly say that LA has the most crooked government in the US. this doesn't suprise
me at all. louisiana government is all about how much money they can fuck the people out of and put
in thier greedy pockets.
thats why i moved from that miserable excuse of a state.
> "Disingenuous quote of the day: 'We're not trying to swing our
> arm around a whole bunch of people to get new revenue.'"
Well, I mean, maybe it wasn't a disingenuous comment.
Maybe they have other uses for the $55 fee.
After all, Doom 3 is $54.99....
just my anecdotal, but I've been to two differnt TV repair shops in the past two years,once for a monitor repair (not worth it cost wise but possible) and once for a vcr part (unobtanium) both places had stacks of computers and monitors in them, and the guys there did all manner of repairs, in fact, more repairs on computers (real repairs, not just component swapping) than the average whitebox shop I have been in. I found both the guys to be quite hip and knowledgeable computer users and techs. They got into the biz because they loved gadgets and had the attitude and aptitude for it, so it's a simple transition to working on boxes. One came from a dotmilgov tech background, the other from a hobbyist to a civvie tech school background.
FWIW
...although regulations never hurt the fat cat lawyers and bureaucrats who benefit from them.
In the spirit of spite, perhaps all these ripped-off computer techs should go out and incompetently "fix" televions all over the state. Then they could point to Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board for licensing them and thereby making them think they were qualified to fix televisions...
"What a great meal! Could you bring us the check?"
"What! The Check? Remy, you done know your money's no good here!"
"By the way, did I introduce Miss Ann Osboure of the Federal District Attorney's Office? And, could you bring THE check?, please"
"oh, the Check! Why sure Remy, comin' right up"
"Ahh, don't go gettin' your pretty head all upset there, 'cher. It's just the way we do things down here in the Big Easy."
Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin in
The Big Easy 1986
We Computer Professionals should welcome and encourage / expand this trend. As our profession becomes more key to health and safety, our society will want to be sure Computer Pros know what they are doing. Further, Government licensing can be a POWERFUL way to fight offshoring. That programmer in Bangalore is unlikely to be licensed to program in Louisiana!
Its what they do best. After all, Nopoleanic laws etc.. Its just a huge money grab to get more money for a dying industry. Seriously? How many TV Repair Techs are there right now? Not many. My uncle was a TV Repair guy and he retired a long time ago. He fixed TV's when they REALLY needed fixing, IE replacing a tube that was dead or dull. Once semiconductors came into the market, his repair business died.
In our day, its a throw it away and buy another $5000 HDTV set and hang it on the wall. Long gone are the tubes that went out. I bet if someone investigate the financing on the Radio and TV board in Louisiana it will show that the inflow of money has long ago trickled down to almost nothing.
This is OBVIOUS. Its a money grab. The entire state is almost dead from unemployment and everyone like myself moving out.
Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting someone else to do the work. --John G. Pollard
Recectly, the state of Minnesota decided that only Certified Electricians can legally install low voltage electrical cable, which includes network and alarm system wiring. Here's http://www.mwpersons.com/articles/3-12-01-licensin g.htmlone man's story with a link to the relevant code. Gotta make sure those network cables don't electrocute anybody.
I'm already running for office (3rd time), and I'm the county chair of a political party (not the Republicrats). And now to address your points...
Driver's licenses do not do anything to ensure safe driving. Not wanting to get into an accident ensures safe driving. Not wanting to get cited or hauled to jail ensures safe driving. How does paying a couple of dollars every few years (with no testing) ensure that I drive safer? It doesn't. I would personally feel safer if the truly unsafe drivers (speeding to excess, reckless driving, DUI, etc.) were thrown in jail for extended periods. Maybe it would discourage the bad behaviours.
Marriage licenses were originally meant to prevent inter-racial marriages. I prefer the system of common law marriage as a license is a permit to do something that would otherwise be illegal. When did normal marriage become illegal? I support keeping them around for people that want to quickly bypass waiting periods and such.
Fishing and hunting licenses don't make a dime's worth of difference in population control. It just ends up amounting to another case of "papers, please". Why the heck do most states require an SSN for one of those? It's just another control for the sake of control.
You're wrong on what a license is. See above: a license is a permit to do something that would otherwise be illegal. I'm very suspicious of any attempt to make something illegal and replace its legality with a licensing system.
There is a difference between "insightful" and "inciteful" other than spelling.
And yet somehow, it's still a mystery as to why the Louisiana economy has been in the toilet for 20 years...
Or is this just a step in a direction? My job is repairing ground radios for the Marine Corps. With the training I have in the electronics field, if I can get my hands on a scematic, I can fix damn near anything. Does that mean that, should I move to Louisianna and set up a radio repair business, or get licensed similarly, that I need to pay 55 more dollars just because I am capable of fixing TVs? This may seem a little off topic, but that's almost the impression I'm getting from this story, that they're just looking for more income, and will jack pretty much anyone they can to get it.
-- Napalm sticks to kids.
Let's force those computer literate people out of New Orleans so they can use their skills in areas that don't screw you over for a tax grab. Well Heck, a computer and a TV both have screens, they must be the same....
It's like the buggy whip manufacturers bitching about the sale of horseless carriages. Just get over it and don't expect the world to protect you from obsolescence.
"In prison you just have to shut your eyes and take it. Here you have to shut your eyes and give it."
Only if your judging by the number of convictions. And Mississippi wins because they have every young idealist in the country watching them, trying to make their reputation.
I grew up in Rhode Island, by Sand Pond in Warwick. If I had been ten years younger and a few IQ points dumber, I would have been burned to death in the The Station just like everyone else.
The owner had complaits about the noise, so instead of getting a professional acoustic consultation, he goes to his brother who gets him a great deal on sound foam. The brother forgot to mention that he couldn't sell it because it was highly flammable, so it goes in the club. Then one night, the dumbest band on earth comes to town and they shoot off firebombs right into the super flammable sound foam.
Typical Rhode Island.
The only reason why Mississippi is 'ahead' of Rhode Island in the corruption statistics is because no one can convict anyone of corruption in Rhode Island. It took the Feds twenty years to build a case against Buddy Cianci. It would have taken twenty minutes anywhere else.
As we move toward integration of computing devices, it seems likely that this type of thing will continue. After all, cellular phones are becoming hubs for more and more uses of technology, VoIP is the target of regulation, (see /. story http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/04/08/04/2212251.shtml ?tid=158&tid=95&tid=103), as are other forms of Internet-based communication. The lines are blurring and computing devices are becoming ripe for federal bureacracies to harvest for revenue. But perhaps these new paper certifications will look good on resumes too?
becoming a lawyer would be free, just as encouragement.
No! becoming a lawyer would cost a bundle, just as Discouragement!!
Kinda like...
Why does it cost so much for a pound of lawyer's BRAINS??
Ans: because it takes sooo many to get a pound...
or
Whts the difference between a dead lawyer in the middle of the road and a dead skunk in the middle of the road??
Ans: there are skid marks by the skunk...
Maybe then we can lobby against outsourcing and set some regulated wages so I'm not struggling to make more than they do at Home Depot or UPS.
Introducing the new Occam Fusion! Now with sqrt(-1) fewer blades!
From : http://www.ksrevenue.org/faqs-abcdrugtax.htm
"The drug dealer has 15 days from the date of assessment to request a hearing before the Director of Taxation to determine the validity of the assessment pursuant to K.S.A. 79-5205. The assessment is statutorily presumed to be valid and correctly determined. The burden is on the taxpayer to prove otherwise."
Guilty until proven innocent. How unamerican.
For the low LOW price of 55 bucks I can pad my resume with "Radio and TV Repairman".
I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
Just when i think I'm out, they drag me back in.....
Sometimes seventeen/Syllables aren't enough to/Express a complete
fuck-tard
All computer repair facilities in the State of California have to register with, and follow the strict rules of, the Bureau of Electronics and Applicane Repair (B.E.A.R.). A repair store can't operate without that - they have to be licensed in order to even stay open.
Find out about the Lexus Rx400h Hybrid!
" Let us not forget that an improperly wired CRT will emit X Rays."
According to this link:
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/TVRad.html
There's never been a case where this has happened. Is this because its not possible to do, or because all TV repairmen are licensed and all exercise extreme caution when wiring CRTs?
Incidentally, do you know anyone who has ever rewired a CRT? When is a re-wiring advisable? Is it an annual thing, or just when the wires get old?
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
"If some yahoo who doesn't know what he's doing steps up the accelerating voltage, it WILL increase the x-rays produced."
That would be amazing. Someone who doesn't know what they're doing would be unlucky enough to step up the accelerating voltage.
How would one go about that? I've looked inside a lot of TV's, and I've never seen a voltage adjustment for the acclerating voltage. How high would this voltage have to be?
According to a couple people, they think its impossible to repair a TV set so it would emit any appreciable X-Rays, but you seem like a guy who knows what he's doing, so I'll bet you've seen this plenty of times from unlicensed TV Repairmen, right?
I want you. Does that make me a bad person?
Here's some relevant contact info. Let 'em know what you think, is Brohn lying and it's a money grab, or are computers really televisions and vcrs?
Governor Kathleen Blanco, Office of the Governor Attn: Constituent Services
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA. 70804-9004
Telephone 225-342-0991 or 225-342-7015
Fax: 225-342-7099
contact@gov.state.la.us
Radio and Television Technicians Board, Louisiana State
C/O Jesse Pugh
6554 Florida Boulevard Suite 109,
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
225-231-4710
Brohn, Stanley J.
10265 Darryl Drive,
Baton Rouge, LA 70815
225-272-0648
with their lips.....
They need to check the person out that thought this tripe up, and find out how long they been on crack...
Like take car audio. Many (most even) manufacturers won't warentee their equipment unless it's "professionally installed". The reason is because there exists the good likelyhood of fuckup if some dumb teenager just wires it up themselves (it's much easier to fuck up car audio than home audio). So just what is a professional? Well it's someone that is a Mobile Electronics Certified Professional, MECP. It's a simple written test akin to the A+ for computers. It's not proof you are a master with electronics, but at least it means you should know which wire is positive and how to ground a system.
So, if it was something along these lines, that you had to be A+ certified, or have some computer certification, I could see the point, though not necessiarly support it. In that case the point would be to ensure minimal competence, that someone could know you were state licensed, meaning you'd apssed a standard test and so weren't just a complete liar that knows nothing of computers.
That is not the case. All you do is send them $55. Oh give me a break, that probes nothing other than that you have (had) $55. It's like those diploma mills on the Internet. Sure it says PhD, but since all you did was give them money for it, it holds no actual meaning or value.
They're attempting to extend the definition of a TV (and they could also argue a radio) to include PCs. They lack the legal footing to redefine what constitutes a television, that is a matter for the legislature and the courts.
Simply because a device can be equipped (via hardware and software) to record and display a television signal does not a television make. A PC can be similarly equipped (via hardware and/or software), to listen to radio broadcasts, but this does not make it a radio.
I'm not going to pay the damned $55 fee or file the affidavit; I'm a computer guy, not a TV repairman. Any attempt to force it on me will be considered extortion and will be met with appropriate legal action. I'll have to take this up with my attorney and see what he thinks of a class action...
Without some form of certification test, or acceptance of one like A+, It is just a meaningless piece of paper. That makes it a money grab plain and simple.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
"Leander, the federal government's got the atom bomb. What you got?" -- Earl Long, to Leander Perez, the boss of Plaquemines Parish, and outspoken segregationalist, in 1959.
While other states have histories of political corruption, none are as interesting as Louisiana's.
The well known political wisdom in Louisiana is "People down here don't expect corruption. We demand it". The New Orleans "permit" office, for example, is known by everyone as the hole into which every conceivable (and some inconceivable elsewhere) business must pour money every so often, unless its owned by one of the good ol' boy network that started out owning slave plantations. It's one of the many reasons that Louisiana has no "Silicon Valley": its a Carbon Swamp, the cancerous "Chemical Alley" too hot for even neighboring Texas.
--
make install -not war
This works out well with the government's idea of training cable guys and exterminators terrorist spotting training. Might as well give anyone with $55 a badge and a gun too.
But is this really a surprise? This is the same mentality that thought up the Coffee Tax for Seattle. There is always somebody looking to put there unwelcome hands into you wallet while doing nothing to earn the money they're taking ; from the government on down.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Being in New Orleans, I got wind of this about a week ago and was amused - there's a grass roots effort to oppose this bone-headed idea. Unfortunately, this is a prime example of how chaotic and irrational the government down here is. Everything you've heard is basically true.
We spawn politicians that have the dubious distinction of removing park benches as a means to stop homeless people, school board members that spend more money on lawsuits than they do schools, a monopoly daily newspaper that all throughout 1999 referred to the year 2000 as "the millennium" with a small blurb that said, "some purists believe the millennium begins in 2001", neo-nazi state representatives, indicted governors, etc. The former governor repealed the mandatory helmet law for motorcyclists... I could go on and on... This is one messed up area... This latest fiasco is more of the same.
welcome our new, green, yellow and purple, plastic bead necklace slinging overlords.
(If you've been to Mardi Gras, you know what I mean).
TV repair men need to be licenced since they are modifing radio communications equipment, not because the systems deal with audio/video.
IANAL but if you presented that case to any judge he'd probably see the logic in it and rule in your favor.
I only allow union projectionists to work on my home theater PC.
Wouldn't any old Joe with a cell phone that has a built in camera also qualify under the Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board's insane opinion?
pay the fee and join the clubl.
They had better have their sanitation engineer licenses before they clean up all the defication they occur from slashdot and the press about this.
but LICENSED Radio and TV Repairman.
I have blog like everyone else
Louisiana is a different place than the rest of the country. First off, the state uses Napoleanic Code (which is derived from Roman Law) while the rest of the nation is using English Common Law. Every governmental position in the state is elected, NONE are appointed.
Secondly, the state has continously put political machines into office. Fmr. Gov. Edwin Edwards (3-term governor) is currently serving a prison sentence in Dallas because of a variety of charges, basically stemming from taking bribes from casinos. Then back in the day, we had Huey Long, followed by his brother Earl Long. Huey even had a box where he kept all the kickbacks from state businesses and employees.
Hell, to become a notary public in Louisiana, you've got to get approval from the Governor!
The state has some of the most corrupt, crooked, and just plain old screwed up politics in the nation. Every profession you can think of has to be licensed - and especially now, because the state is running low on cash (thank you Kathleen Blanco), taxes are extremely high.
Most businesses just stay out of Louisiana since the cost of doing business there, unless you know somebody, is extreme. Its good-ole-boy politics at its finest.
This is the same state that got previous Daily Show coverage for some row regarding licensing of nail technicians or hair dressers or some such. Of COURSE it's a money grab. Most licensing is. Government licensing without testing is how they make you pay the equivalent of union dues without offering the protection of a union.
I was a licensed TV and antenna tech in Indiana. We had to take a test or have something better already (like FCC class A license). Louisiana requires no testing. All they're doing is making sure they get a cut from the boneheads that'll be fixing Louisiana's computers, but don't know a transformer from a butt plug.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
One of the problems I've seen in the consumer end of the computer industry is that practically anyone can call themselves a "computer technician" and fix the things. I've seen people ripped off horribly. Case in point, my wife has a friend who was told "Once there's a virus on your hard disk, it's there forever - for $200 we'll provide a new one, install all your software on it, and safely dispose of the old one". No, that's not the rip-off because I fixed the thing for her instead - the initial purchase of the system and all its pirate software was in this instance, but I've got a dozen similar tales dating back fifteen years. Registration doesn't indicate competence, but it does mean that they've needed to provide a fee and adequate identification to the state before setting out their shingle. It makes it that much more likely that in the event of a problem you can track them down. It makes it a little less likely for the more overt shonks to set up shop for a month or two then move. It's annoying for the legitimate businesses, but might under some circumstances help keep the less desirable out. Of course, then we have the ongoing problem of who is deemed "undesirable", and with computers being able to be viewed as playback or encryption devices we have a whole other can of worms.
This state is particularly famous for
1 _0 4_a.asp
over-licensing (rather like Hawaii). The most
recent court case involved people failing
the "florist test" year after year. Without
the license, they could not sell flowers.
See:
http://www.ij.org/publications/liberty/2004/13_
Oh jesus... one minute the riaa is trying to stop us from using these machines as such, then this louie group wants to define this as exactly what the riaa is trying to stop
who wins...
...if the licenses would show real capabilities to nurse and maintain a relationship (akin to a driving licence for driving a car), divorce rates would arguably be much lower.
The home of corruption since Huey Long.
Fucking morons.
PC techs don't do TV repair - a TV is a "field replaceable unit". Fuck 'em.
If they pass the law, let every PC repair person in the state - corporate and freelance - go on strike for a month.
The state would collapse in a week.
See what I mean when I say the state is nothing but an extortion/protection racket?
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
As one who knows how to repair both types of devices I find repairing TV's the most difficult of both jobs. Repairing at component level takes some skill and experience, as opposed to just swapping boards.
Classifing a computer as a TV sets a dangerous precedent since a computer can subsitute nearly any electronic device that has only solid state parts. A computer can function as an oscilloscope, VCR, Radio (both RX & TX) etc etc with adequate peripherals... the level of skill required to repair these (the actual devices, not the peripherals) is simply beyond the skill of a typical computer technician.
Of course with adequate training that might be another story...
- "They misunderestimated me."
So, if you work for the state or local government and do computer support, go into work tomorrow and announce you've applied for the license, but haven't received it yet. Sorry, Senator/Judge/Mayor/Officical who decided you need a license, but I can't reset your password because I don't have a license. You'll just have to wait a few weeks until I receive it.
Link to Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board Membership
"I opened it up, fixed it and have been using it for nearly 5 years. Not a bad lifespan for a free piece of hardware."
Only in the computing industry... I have some of my dad's powertools (10 years old), drive my grandmother's car (39 years old), got some of my great granddad's hand tools (70? years old). The computing model really annoys me, this is just not sustainable, the world is drowning under a sea of thrown out crap. Why can't we build stuff to last a bit longer? or more significantly design systems that can work with older kit... Me, sick of software bloat. Even new distros of linux assume 2Gb hard drives and 128Mb Ram minimum. All my mum wants to do is email, and word process. I'm sure I managed this ten years ago. Surely must be achievable without hardcore linux geekhacking skills. We realy should try to develop a more long term design philosophy. I've got a three year old mobile phone, Ericsson, shockproofed, gortex lined, you can drop it in a pond and fish it out and use it, no problem. They don't make them any more. My guess is - because people like me buy them and don't need to buy another one six months later. We really need a big paradigm shift...(imho)
I would imagine that TV repairmen were originally regulated because they had to know how to safely work on open TV cabinets containing dangerous high voltages, operate test equipment on those high voltage circuits, and install suitable replacement parts that wouldn't catch on fire.
So you're saying that the government should require anyone who cracks open a TV set to have a license? No more fix-it-at-home episodes? Billy Bob can't drink a six-pack, get out the screwdriver and augment his gymnastics skills with the flyback transformer?
Licenses are required to protect consumers from ripoff artists. Otherwise, you'd have corner shops with con artists "fixing" TVs.
Back in the old days of tube TVs, it was very easy to take a damaged TV from a naive client, declare it a total loss by "demonstrating" how badly the TV was broken, and offer to buy it for $25 as a "parts" chassis.
Then, put all the tubes back in, fix the original minor problem for $10, tune it up a little and sell it for $200 to someone else. Then wait for the next moron to walk through the door and attempt to swindle them too! A state agency with a licensing plan has a complaint system. Several complaints, and an inspector stops in, maybe to suspend the license.
Back in the 60's and 70's, you could find tube testers at the hardware and grocery stores. Anyone with a screwdriver and some patience could at least get their TV up and running by bringing in dead tubes, checking them in the tube tester, and replacing them. Tuning was a bit more tricky, but it was possible if you learned a few tricks.
Editorial Mode: ON
PCs are simply a pain-in-the-ass. After chasing hardware and software problems for other people for the past 15+ years, I tell you, it's not worth $75 an hour to do it. The calls never stop, and most people generally believe that each incident is directly related to the first service call. They feel that they should only have to pay $75 once, and that everything after that is free. If you enjoy peace and quiet, strict enforcement of the $75/hour fee is required. If you perform one favor, somehow, everyone hears about it and you've got dozens of others who expect the same treatment. It's not worth it.
The only thing worse than fixing PCs is fixing someone else's stovepipe network!
-- No sig for you!
While it is true they require you to have the tax stamps, they haven't actually sold the tax stamps in a whole lot of years.
Since they never actually issue the stamps, nobody can ever be in compliance with the law. Therefore, they effectively make it illegal since they don't give you a (real) route to make it legal.
Go ahead, try and get yourself some of those stamps.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
will pop up?
Let's see, under how many areas can prople try to claim computers as part of their realm of profiteer--err, regulation?
1. recording and playback (tv/radio repair)
2. office machines (copier/fax repair people)
3. telephony device (Ma Bell et al)
4. instructional aid (school boards and councils)
5. text comminucation device (courier and package services)
6. timekeeping device (clock and watch repair)
7. publishing device (newspaper/magazine/book industries)
8. video & music composition & production (music, movie, and TV industries)
9. lighted case mods could be argued to be lamps...
10. etc... etc... etc..
There's no end to what a GENERAL PURPOSE device can be used to do. Therefore, if one board that's over anything besides general purpose computers can tax and license, then pretty much every board who covers anything can. That way, no one can afford to be a repair technician, and the idea of disposable OEM PCs becomes a reality and not just a nightmare.
In old TVs there was no power supply. Just three to five tubes (I am talking vacuum tubes here) hooked-up in series where they would total 117V. This was true of old radios too, particularly 'three-way' radios (powered by AC, batteries, and 117V DC). In this case you could consider the whole of the TV set to be one huge power supply from the standpoint of servicing. In fact on those sets the entire outside was make of insulator (wood and particle board). Unlike modern sets where you can open them, and there is a power supply that you can remove and replace, the situation with the old sets was very different. That was the reason, you open up an old set, and it was a high-voltage affair. Today even though the internals of the power supply are exposed and there are hugh capacitors exposed, there is an honest to goodness power supply that can simply be replaced. If you did not know what you were doing with the old sets you were a danger to yourself and to the people and property for which you had performed the service. Think fire or think if you wired the power wrong, that third prong isn't ground any more then...
Yes, define: would work, but most people would just use a spell checker. The problem is that they are BOTH legitimate words,
so they would both pass the spell checker - and the google search tried by the poster.
Interesting how personal research has changed with the Internet: We have lightning fast access to data of unknown quality.
And it's getting faster. And there seems to be less and less information, but more and more data.
We won't be allowed to use our computers as 'recording or playback devices' soon anyways ! :/
In the late 70's Dr Tim was arrested coming into this country with a bag of marijuana. He SUCCESSFULLY appealed his conviction, and i believe his defense was something like this:
In order to buy the stamp, i have to declare the marijuana.
But if i declare it, it is self incriminating!
Therefore, by the rights granted under the 5th amendment, you cant make prosecute me for not making a self-incriminating statement.
The supreme court found for Dr. Tim.
So, I'd be listed as a registered TV repairman although I have no idea how to fix a TV? Interesting.
I know this is absolutely going to kill my server, but we're the ones that are going to be affected by the licensing board's actions, and have been discussing the issue on our mailing list today.
Need a Linux consultant in New Orleans?
What happens if you licensce some idiot who doesn't know how to discharge a flyback transformer. Personally, I routinely fix stuff without having to resort to opening a f*ing monitor. I do know how to discharge the capacitor but I will not do it for pay. If it's my own hardware, no problem but really there's a serious and significant safety issue involved. It appears on the surface that the whole issue is motivated by the greed of the Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board.
How much of a market is left for TV repair these days? I see perfectly good TVs getting placed down next to dumpsters all the time. I salvaged two myself (one doesn't work perfectly, but good enough). Why would anyone pay to repair one unless it was a big-screen model?