the convenience of cell phones and satellite technology keeps us all in touch at the speed of light. but i have never thought about the flip side of that coin. the government, which i don't trust, can use that same technology to conveniently shut down all communication and that includes satellite t.v. where most people get their information.
"does everybody you know think that you are a condescending ass or is it just me."
Was that a question?
"...implying that i am some slack-jawed knuckle dragging moron."
No. Not at all.
"the only way that will happen is if there is some real resistance and blood in the streets."
Now you sound like a moron. An angsty teenager who just moved from the burbs into a big city. Vanilla flavored to boot!. Between evangelicals predicting a rapture, libertarians stocking up on ammo and toilet paper, and 'investors' gobbling up the gold stocks, it's refreshing to hear someone not calling out for a blood-bath. You not being one of them.
You have your levels of government all mixed up here. BART (municipally owned) decided to temporarily suspend a service (cell phone coverage inside subway tunnels) for whatever reason. Right or wrong, you DO have a voice when it comes to how a city is run (provided you live there). SF has a rich history of marginalized classes fighting for their rights. Successfully so.
These are tense, twitchy times, so I won't blame you for wanting to tie this issue to the way the federal government is run, but it's important to have some perspective at the end of the day. You moron :)
Just like with driving cars, owning a cell phone is a privileged granted by an FCC license. "Abuse and lose it, blah blah blah."
Now, if you want to get into an argument about how government, business and society as a whole has made cellphones as well as automobiles a standard requirement of living in the 20th- and 21st-centuries, you'd have an argument. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 is basically this: you can't legislate if it doesn't work and you can't set expectations if they're widely unreasonable.
While GRPA has lead to significant increases in government productivity, it's also made rhetoric on all levels of government toxic. It's given the GAO and OMB power to effectively defund and kill projects.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.-The Congress finds that-
(1) waste and inefficiency in Federal programs undermine the confidence of the American people in the Government and reduces the Federal Government's ability to address adequately vital public needs;
(2) Federal managers are seriously disadvantaged in their efforts to improve program efficiency and effectiveness, because of insufficient articulation of program goals and inadequate information on program performance; and
(3) congressional policymaking, spending decisions and program oversight are seriously handicapped by insufficient attention to program performance and results.
(b) Purposes.-The purposes of this Act are to-
(1) improve the confidence of the American people in the capability of the Federal Government, by systematically holding Federal agencies accountable for achieving program results;
(2) initiate program performance reform with a series of pilot projects in setting program goals, measuring program performance against those goals, and reporting publicly on their progress;
(3) improve Federal program effectiveness and public accountability by promoting a new focus on results, service quality, and customer satisfaction;
(4) help Federal managers improve service delivery, by requiring that they plan for meeting program objectives and by providing them with information about program results and service quality;
(5) improve congressional decisionmaking by providing more objective information on achieving statutory objectives, and on the relative effectiveness and efficiency of Federal programs and spending; and
(6) improve internal management of the Federal Government.
What will end up coming back to it is whether or not the government can intentionally disadvantage its citizens to protect the welfare of others and the courts will always rule that based on laws like these that you can't do it.
It's the reason why multiple DUI offenders get rubber-stamp approval for hardship licenses.
Free Speech Zone
http://www.metafilter.com/106454/Rule-the-street
the convenience of cell phones and satellite technology keeps us all in touch at the speed of light. but i have never thought about the flip side of that coin. the government, which i don't trust, can use that same technology to conveniently shut down all communication and that includes satellite t.v. where most people get their information.
scary
A protest failed becuase cell phones were jammed. Fuck. That's all it takes these days.
Why don't you trust the government? They are as useful of an institution as you choose them to be.
Media is controlled by a handful of mega-corps. I find that a lot less trustworthy than any gubbmint.
does everybody you know think that you are a condescending ass or is it just me.
and i base that statement on one word in your post "gubbmint". implying that i am some slack-jawed knuckle dragging moron.
and you cannot be so naive to believe that "The People" are in charge of the government; and that we can turn it into "an useful institution" can you?
the only way that will happen is if there is some real resistance and blood in the streets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF2JB53aX-E&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd8wwMFmCeE&NR=1
"does everybody you know think that you are a condescending ass or is it just me."
Was that a question?
"...implying that i am some slack-jawed knuckle dragging moron."
No. Not at all.
"the only way that will happen is if there is some real resistance and blood in the streets."
Now you sound like a moron. An angsty teenager who just moved from the burbs into a big city. Vanilla flavored to boot!. Between evangelicals predicting a rapture, libertarians stocking up on ammo and toilet paper, and 'investors' gobbling up the gold stocks, it's refreshing to hear someone not calling out for a blood-bath. You not being one of them.
You have your levels of government all mixed up here. BART (municipally owned) decided to temporarily suspend a service (cell phone coverage inside subway tunnels) for whatever reason. Right or wrong, you DO have a voice when it comes to how a city is run (provided you live there). SF has a rich history of marginalized classes fighting for their rights. Successfully so.
These are tense, twitchy times, so I won't blame you for wanting to tie this issue to the way the federal government is run, but it's important to have some perspective at the end of the day. You moron :)
The protestors should sue the cell phone companies for failing to provide services
Just like with driving cars, owning a cell phone is a privileged granted by an FCC license. "Abuse and lose it, blah blah blah."
Now, if you want to get into an argument about how government, business and society as a whole has made cellphones as well as automobiles a standard requirement of living in the 20th- and 21st-centuries, you'd have an argument. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 is basically this: you can't legislate if it doesn't work and you can't set expectations if they're widely unreasonable.
While GRPA has lead to significant increases in government productivity, it's also made rhetoric on all levels of government toxic. It's given the GAO and OMB power to effectively defund and kill projects.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.-The Congress finds that-
(1) waste and inefficiency in Federal programs undermine the confidence of the American people in the Government and reduces the Federal Government's ability to address adequately vital public needs;
(2) Federal managers are seriously disadvantaged in their efforts to improve program efficiency and effectiveness, because of insufficient articulation of program goals and inadequate information on program performance; and
(3) congressional policymaking, spending decisions and program oversight are seriously handicapped by insufficient attention to program performance and results.
(b) Purposes.-The purposes of this Act are to-
(1) improve the confidence of the American people in the capability of the Federal Government, by systematically holding Federal agencies accountable for achieving program results;
(2) initiate program performance reform with a series of pilot projects in setting program goals, measuring program performance against those goals, and reporting publicly on their progress;
(3) improve Federal program effectiveness and public accountability by promoting a new focus on results, service quality, and customer satisfaction;
(4) help Federal managers improve service delivery, by requiring that they plan for meeting program objectives and by providing them with information about program results and service quality;
(5) improve congressional decisionmaking by providing more objective information on achieving statutory objectives, and on the relative effectiveness and efficiency of Federal programs and spending; and
(6) improve internal management of the Federal Government.
What will end up coming back to it is whether or not the government can intentionally disadvantage its citizens to protect the welfare of others and the courts will always rule that based on laws like these that you can't do it.
It's the reason why multiple DUI offenders get rubber-stamp approval for hardship licenses.
your mom :)
whole lot of nothing in that post james, gives me a headache to read
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