If you couldn't save up $50 in the time since the transition was announced, perhaps you've got bigger problems than not being able to watch television.
I don't know where I stand on this. I work for a mid-size construction contractor and the just yesterday I took out a look out in the yard and there were upwards of 20 trucks just sitting there. Each of those trucks represents a worker not working and property taxes and insurance being paid without a return on investment. We're starving for work and we're not alone. Furthermore, those workers aren't paying income taxes and that's sustaining the cycle of budgetary shorfalls which are making it so hard to find work (because most road construction is publicly funded). Contractors are taking LOSSES to win bids just to keep shovels digging and hammers flying. That means that now is an excellent time to invest in infrastructure as you're going to get a lot of bang for your buck.
At the same time, however, you have to ask yourself if the ends justify the means. Does the federal government even have the money to invest in infrastructure? No. They're printing more money to pay for these projects which could lead to hyperinflation (think Germany at the end of WWII).
They're just as in bed with the lobbyists as the Republicans are. Perhaps even more so in this case because the majority of media corporations are in blue states like California.
At face value it doesn't seem like such a bad idea. But if you think about the long-term costs of running the system (administrators, maintenance, hardware upgrades, software upgrades) it's not a job that the government is going to be able to perform efficiently.
Then you have the privacy concern. As it stands, if somebody wants access to my medical records then I need to explicitly authorize their release. In my opinion, this is the way it should be. I'm against anything that makes it easier for a third party to get my records without consent. There needs to be very strict language protecting the consumer's privacy.
Then you have provisions that have NOTHING to do with streamlining medical record transfer. Quoteth wikipedia:
"The National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure the doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective so as to reduce costs and âoeguideâ the doctorâ(TM)s decisions (p.442, 446). Hospitals and doctors that are not âoemeaningful usersâ of the new system will face penalties by the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose âoemore stringent measures of meaningful use over timeâ (p.511, 518, 540-541). The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research ($1.1 billion)[26] (p.190-192) will slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are expensive. Medicare would apply a cost-effective standard set by the Federal Council for the elderly (p.464).[27] Drugs "that are found to be less effective and in some cases, more expensive, will no longer be prescribed." It approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.[28]"
That's right folks! They're using this bill as a means to regulate the treatment your doctor provides. They, in their infinite wisdom, will decided whether the treatment your doctor is giving you is worth it. Got cancer? Oh, but you're 80 years old. Sorry. We've got more important people to take care of.
This is what you should expect because whenever the government gives you something they expect you to bow to their demands to make sure the money isn't "wasted." It's just like how people who have been convicted of drug-related offenses have trouble getting college grants. It's historic really, going back to the big city democrats in the early 1900's. They give you your meal ticket, you give them their power.
As far as I know, in the U.S. the police can *ask* for any information they want but the company is under no obligation to provide it. I'm not sure a case would get thrown out in the U.S. because there wasn't a warrant if the company voluntarily provided the information. The company might run afoul of consumer protection laws, but I'm not sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
No, it is different because users don't expect their identity to be revealed by their ip address. The whole point of a phone book is to link people with numbers and you can opt out if you don't want to be listed.
"hy shouldn't we encourage people to give it a go"
By all means, encourage people. Just don't do it on technology related forums where everyone's already heard it a MILLION TIMES and the vast majority of people have experience with it. Go setup your friends and family and non-techies with it. I'm tired of the linux fanboys preaching to the choir on every tech forum whenever there's a question remotely related to software or even computers in general.
"How do I figure out my subnet mask under Network Connections?"
"Windows sucks d00d. Switch to linux! It's freeeeeeee and its waaaaaay better than windows. hrrrrdrrrrrrrrr"
Maybe they could put two power buttons on it: one to boot to linux and one to boot to Windows. Or they could put a little toggle switch on it and boot according to the user's preference by default.
Well the Iowa resident would still have there voice heard, because it affects the national popular vote. It just wont be fair for Iowans because there vote will be worth less than that of the rest of the nation while the other states keep the electoral system.
I agree. This is stupid. This means if someone gets 51% of the votes in Iowa they get 100% of the electoral votes. How is that any more fair than the system as it stands? All it does is give Iowa more swing in the election (until the other states implement this, then we're back to square 1).
Yeah right. It's vital to the well-being of our democracy that youtube viewers can barrage every video with "u suck cock lol" and "dude like pot iz ttly awesome. 420 MAN!"
Good call. I hope everyone reads this comment. I was getting all excited 'cause I didn't RTFA and I thought I'd get to upgrade my existing Vista laptop for free (perhaps in a surprise concession by Microsoft that Vista sucks the proverbial monkey cock). Alas, no such luck. I guess this one's going to end up running nix after all. (not that that's a bad thing).
Most (but not all) linux evangelists are just lusers who picked up linux and learned a few commands. They like it because it's free (as in beer).They go around preaching on every forum they can using recycled arguments they picked up from other users . They don't do it because they're looking out for people's best interest and want everybody to use the best OS possible; rather they do it because they know that the more people that use it, the more app's and drivers there will be. I used to be an avid linux user (until I found a superior OS), but now I'm getting sick of even seeing the word "linux" in every fucking software-related article I read. These kiddies need to shut the fuck up.
It's called empty rhetoric and it's nothing new. Politicians are notorious for their overuse of ethos. Why? Because it appeals to the masses who can't be bothered to actually think about issues. Why bother with a nuanced argument when you can just run around shouting slogans? Then you'd actually open yourself up to having to back up your words with reason and actually have to participate in a debate with the other side. "Islomofascism!" "Change!" "Sieg Heil!" etc. etc. etc.
Slashdot Mirror
If you couldn't save up $50 in the time since the transition was announced, perhaps you've got bigger problems than not being able to watch television.
Judges? Convicted of throwing people in jail for money? These guys wont last 24 hours in a federal penitentiary. They're as good as dead.
I don't know where I stand on this. I work for a mid-size construction contractor and the just yesterday I took out a look out in the yard and there were upwards of 20 trucks just sitting there. Each of those trucks represents a worker not working and property taxes and insurance being paid without a return on investment. We're starving for work and we're not alone. Furthermore, those workers aren't paying income taxes and that's sustaining the cycle of budgetary shorfalls which are making it so hard to find work (because most road construction is publicly funded). Contractors are taking LOSSES to win bids just to keep shovels digging and hammers flying. That means that now is an excellent time to invest in infrastructure as you're going to get a lot of bang for your buck.
At the same time, however, you have to ask yourself if the ends justify the means. Does the federal government even have the money to invest in infrastructure? No. They're printing more money to pay for these projects which could lead to hyperinflation (think Germany at the end of WWII).
They're just as in bed with the lobbyists as the Republicans are. Perhaps even more so in this case because the majority of media corporations are in blue states like California.
At face value it doesn't seem like such a bad idea. But if you think about the long-term costs of running the system (administrators, maintenance, hardware upgrades, software upgrades) it's not a job that the government is going to be able to perform efficiently.
Then you have the privacy concern. As it stands, if somebody wants access to my medical records then I need to explicitly authorize their release. In my opinion, this is the way it should be. I'm against anything that makes it easier for a third party to get my records without consent. There needs to be very strict language protecting the consumer's privacy.
Then you have provisions that have NOTHING to do with streamlining medical record transfer. Quoteth wikipedia:
"The National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure the doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective so as to reduce costs and âoeguideâ the doctorâ(TM)s decisions (p.442, 446). Hospitals and doctors that are not âoemeaningful usersâ of the new system will face penalties by the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose âoemore stringent measures of meaningful use over timeâ (p.511, 518, 540-541). The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research ($1.1 billion)[26] (p.190-192) will slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are expensive. Medicare would apply a cost-effective standard set by the Federal Council for the elderly (p.464).[27] Drugs "that are found to be less effective and in some cases, more expensive, will no longer be prescribed." It approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.[28]"
That's right folks! They're using this bill as a means to regulate the treatment your doctor provides. They, in their infinite wisdom, will decided whether the treatment your doctor is giving you is worth it. Got cancer? Oh, but you're 80 years old. Sorry. We've got more important people to take care of.
This is what you should expect because whenever the government gives you something they expect you to bow to their demands to make sure the money isn't "wasted." It's just like how people who have been convicted of drug-related offenses have trouble getting college grants. It's historic really, going back to the big city democrats in the early 1900's. They give you your meal ticket, you give them their power.
A sticky situation indeed...
As far as I know, in the U.S. the police can *ask* for any information they want but the company is under no obligation to provide it. I'm not sure a case would get thrown out in the U.S. because there wasn't a warrant if the company voluntarily provided the information. The company might run afoul of consumer protection laws, but I'm not sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
No, it is different because users don't expect their identity to be revealed by their ip address. The whole point of a phone book is to link people with numbers and you can opt out if you don't want to be listed.
Yeah, I highly recommend "Hacking the Xbox" to the aspiring hardware hacker. It's a great book and the guy knows his stuff.
Amen brother!
"hy shouldn't we encourage people to give it a go" By all means, encourage people. Just don't do it on technology related forums where everyone's already heard it a MILLION TIMES and the vast majority of people have experience with it. Go setup your friends and family and non-techies with it. I'm tired of the linux fanboys preaching to the choir on every tech forum whenever there's a question remotely related to software or even computers in general.
"How do I figure out my subnet mask under Network Connections?"
"Windows sucks d00d. Switch to linux! It's freeeeeeee and its waaaaaay better than windows. hrrrrdrrrrrrrrr"
FreeBSD of course.
Maybe they could put two power buttons on it: one to boot to linux and one to boot to Windows. Or they could put a little toggle switch on it and boot according to the user's preference by default.
Ignore me. Missed the sarcasm.... coffee time.
Israel is a tiny state with a generally homogeneous culture. The comparison doesn't fit.
anoint a winner
Does anybody else find this hilarious? The Obama as Messiah jokes aren't to be taken literally, ya know.
Yeah, I made a mistake when posted this. I misread the summary.
Well the Iowa resident would still have there voice heard, because it affects the national popular vote. It just wont be fair for Iowans because there vote will be worth less than that of the rest of the nation while the other states keep the electoral system.
Okay. Makes sense now... I misread the summary. Thanks.
I agree. This is stupid. This means if someone gets 51% of the votes in Iowa they get 100% of the electoral votes. How is that any more fair than the system as it stands? All it does is give Iowa more swing in the election (until the other states implement this, then we're back to square 1).
And they were right...
Yeah right. It's vital to the well-being of our democracy that youtube viewers can barrage every video with "u suck cock lol" and "dude like pot iz ttly awesome. 420 MAN!"
Good call. I hope everyone reads this comment. I was getting all excited 'cause I didn't RTFA and I thought I'd get to upgrade my existing Vista laptop for free (perhaps in a surprise concession by Microsoft that Vista sucks the proverbial monkey cock). Alas, no such luck. I guess this one's going to end up running nix after all. (not that that's a bad thing).
Most (but not all) linux evangelists are just lusers who picked up linux and learned a few commands. They like it because it's free (as in beer).They go around preaching on every forum they can using recycled arguments they picked up from other users . They don't do it because they're looking out for people's best interest and want everybody to use the best OS possible; rather they do it because they know that the more people that use it, the more app's and drivers there will be. I used to be an avid linux user (until I found a superior OS), but now I'm getting sick of even seeing the word "linux" in every fucking software-related article I read. These kiddies need to shut the fuck up.
It's called empty rhetoric and it's nothing new. Politicians are notorious for their overuse of ethos. Why? Because it appeals to the masses who can't be bothered to actually think about issues. Why bother with a nuanced argument when you can just run around shouting slogans? Then you'd actually open yourself up to having to back up your words with reason and actually have to participate in a debate with the other side. "Islomofascism!" "Change!" "Sieg Heil!" etc. etc. etc.