A bill to shift cybersecurity to White House

This is worth paying attention to; Forthcoming legislation would wrest cybersecurity responsibilities from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and transfer them to the White House,:

CNET News has obtained a summary of a proposal from Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) that would create an Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor, part of the Executive Office of the President. That office would receive the power to disconnect, if it believes they're at risk of a cyberattack, "critical" computer networks from the Internet.

Some industry groups are warning, however, that adding customized requirements to the government's procurement process may inhibit the government's ability to take advantage of the innovations and cost benefits available from commercial technology.

"Simply put, the government cannot reach its security goals by compromising its access to commercial solutions and processes, nor can it technologically or financially afford it," the Business Software Alliance wrote in a memo to Melissa Hathaway, the acting senior director for cyberspace at the White House National and Homeland Security Councils, who is conducting a 60-day review of cybersecurity programs for President Obama. "Rather than imposing overbroad security requirements, government needs to be selective and limit them to high-criticality systems."

The Obama victory garden not growing on me...

While Maureen Dowd is singing Michelle Obama's praises for getting fifth graders to help her as well as other White House Staffers and the president to supposedly be expected to pull weeds in the modern version of a "Victory Garden" I had to point out the hype and the reality.

Using mainly volunteer labor this public relations stunt is stated to have cost only $200.00, (which I find hard to believe since they had plants as well as seeds) let's look at that for a moment. Where is the average family who is already struggling to pay for what they have going to come up with the additional costs and the additional time to tend a garden in their own yards? The concept of Community Gardens which some areas have that help subsidize the costs would have been a better option to promote. It would have been a better option to suggest funding for...and it would help eliminate the frustration of those who are new time gardeners who won't have access to help and experts:

Cultivators with years of experience worry that home gardeners lured by promises of big savings will burn out when they see the amount of labor required to get dollars from their dirt. The average gardener spends nearly five hours a week grubbing in the dirt and often contends with failure early on, said Bruce Butterfield, a spokesman for The National Gardening Association.

"The one thing you don't factor into it is the cost of your time and your labor," he said.

Community Gardens did get a small mention as Michelle also said for people to not feel guilty if they didn't garden:

For urban dwellers who have no backyards, the country’s one million community gardens can also play an important role, Mrs. Obama said.

I won't feel guilty about not having a backyard garden, if I were to come across an extra $200 to spend on one? I probably still wouldn't because I support local farmers who sell their local produce at our farmer's market, where the prices of their produce is not overly expensive and it helps our local economy...Farmers need to eat too and a locally grown heirloom tomato purchased fresh from the Farmers Market tastes pretty darn near one that you've grown in your backyard, if you've managed to protect them from the critters...Though visions of the Secret Service being sent out to protect the Obamas' arugula from pesky rabbits could be funny.

However as a person who did have gardens years ago and dreamed of having one last year, until the cats killed the seeds that were growing inside. confirmed my earlier realization that the farmer's market was a much wiser choice considering the cost of the garden and the time necessary to maintain it? I hope Michelle buys a good pair of working gloves, blisters hurt...

Pondering Payday Loans

With the focus on the economy and so many people facing budget issues, it stands to reason that the payday lending industry is going to be one that people turn to. While there has been a great deal of controversy over this at times, in my opinion, there is a simple logic to it. The reality is the ability to access a cash advance is a market that this industry fills. If it didn't? They would not exist. Those that have a less expensive option, take it.

When this was a hot topic in Ohio, I couldn't get past the fact that bouncing a ten dollar check could create more fees and net end result of a higher interest rate than a payday loan for several hundred dollars. It's easy to give people advice when it comes to money management, and there are clear horror stories out there about people who have not used the concept of a check advance the way it was intended. Or who have assumed this was free money and gone to more than one lender knowing that they had no real ability to repay it.

It's rather ironic to me that a whole industry is blamed for the few scenarios where the real blame would be more one of personal responsibility. If we truly do believe that this is a free market society, then while there does need to be certain protections in place, there should be the natural competition of the market place without bias towards or against one industry. Here in Ohio, it was the credit unions who stood to gain the most from limiting the amount of money a payday lender could charge. There was very little discussion as to what would happen to those who relied on the cash advance industry, just an assumption that by somehow trying to run these companies out of business it would magically make things better.

There have been times in the past when my family used a check advance because circumstances beyond our control made our budget go out the window. The trick is to only borrow what you know you can repay, that seems to me to be what the focus should be on. As the economy continues to impact us, I think it's a discussion that should be taking place...

Has the media turned on Obama?

It's really hard to not notice some of the headlines being selected when some media sources are writing about the President. While it's safe to say some of these journalists were not overly supportive of Barack Obama as a candidate, it seems as if it is harsher than it was during the past two new presidential administrations. What made me start thinking about this in earnest this morning was this headline, Does Obama Know What He's Doing?.

Since we tend to exaggerate some memories of the past and diminish others, I returned back to something I had read years ago, from 2001, How Bush Versus Clinton Fared In the Press in preparation for what I hope will be a similar research study done when Obama finishes his first 100 days, though I'm not sure if they will compare him to both Bush and Clinton, probably only to Bush, which is why this will be more important to give us the full picture. One of the most interesting items from 2001 was the difference in the coverage:

The most striking single statistic is the drop in the amount of coverage of Bush versus Clinton in their early days.

The drop-off is across the board—across TV, newspapers and newsweeklies. Network television was down 43%, newspapers 38%.

The reality is it would make more sense to compare the first 100 day coverage to former President Bill Clinton because of the economy and because of the above referenced drop in coverage for former President George Bush. It appears that is not the case this time around.

Whether by design or accident, Clinton was attached in news pages to the economic downturn of 1993. That may have been because Clinton, as a Democrat who had campaigned on the economy, felt a need to carry through with the promise that he would be more responsive to economic changes than his predecessor.

There are lots of sub-categories to the material provided by the Project for Excellence in Journalism on this topic, it's one that you can spent quite a bit of time reading if this topic interests you.

Bracing for a bailout backlash...it's already here

I know some of our governmental officials both elected and appointed like to diminish the power of the blogs, but when I read, Bracing for a Bailout Backlash in the New York Times this morning, there were very few of us online that supported the bailout. Many bloggers posted against it, many of their readers agreed with them. Those who felt the bailout was a good idea, were in the minority...

Once upon a time, when a story was written online by a news source and there was the ability to comment, the Obama supporters came out in huge numbers, bashing the former president and expressing their belief that things would change. Now when you read comments that's not happening anymore. There are still a few, but many are expressing disappointment. I don't think all of those who did present their pro-Obama positions online have changed their minds to the point that make up the largest number of those speaking out against him, but I do think that they have lost some of their desire to defend him online. That should worry them, considering how dedicated some of these supporters were...

With all the rain my basement on my mind...

We live in an older rental home, and when it rains a lot we thankfully don't get totally flooded but there is enough seepage that comes in that make it feel more cold and damp than it should be even after the rains finally stop. Which, to my way of thinking the rains could stop any time now. It does however mean that if the basement area is to remain "livable" for those who spend a great deal of time down there, it's time to start looking at dehumidifiers again. Two years ago we were lucky enough to have a friend give us one. It has passed into that great dehumidifier heaven, and while it was much appreciated and saved us money at the time, some of the newer ones out there are just a bit quieter and more energy efficient.

I could of course just let the basement dwellers re-take over other portions of the house, but I think I'd rather keep them there, where the sounds of that CombatArms game is muffled from the basement to the second floor of the house.

:-)

Gee, it's finally realized the death penality costs more

I've been debating the premise of the death penalty for decades, online for at least seven years, with part of the argument aside from the human aspect that courts/juries/judges are not always right, that it actually costs more to go through the whole process to execute a prisoner than it does to institute a life in prison with no parole sentence.

So, when a friend sent me this link, To execute or not: A question of cost? it was no surprise to read that states are discovering what some of us have pointed out for years...

After decades of moral arguments reaching biblical proportions, after long, twisted journeys to the nation's highest court and back, the death penalty may be abandoned by several states for a reason having nothing to do with right or wrong:

Money.

Turns out, it is cheaper to imprison killers for life than to execute them, according to a series of recent surveys. Tens of millions of dollars cheaper, politicians are learning, during a tumbling recession when nearly every state faces job cuts and massive deficits.

Yes! It's all about the money! So kids, let's not execute those prisoners to make sure we reduce our bottom line.

I realize some will suggest the solution is to shorten the process, that would save money, but it could also lead to scenarios where someone who was not guilty was executed. I've spent a bit of time over the years reading the last words of those who have been sentenced to death. It's always struck me that in those last moments of life when if those being killed believe in a God that would be the moment they would seek absolution for their crimes. Yet, many insist with the very last words they are allowed to say that they are innocent, some admit their guilt. A few selected from just one of the websites out there that list this information:

"I am innocent, innocent, innocent. Something very wrong is taking place tonight! May God bless you all. I am ready."

"It's a good day to die. I walked in here like a man and I am leaving here like a man. I had a good life. I have known the love of a good woman, my wife. I have a good family. Thank you for your love. To [my victims'] family, I am sorry for the pain I caused you. If my death gives you any peace, so be it."

"I'm sorry and I really mean that - it's not just words. My life is all I can give. I stole two lives and I know it was precious to ya'll. That's the story of my whole, that's what alcohol will do for you. Oh, Jesus, Lord God, take me home. Precious Lord, take me home, Lord. Take me home, yes, Sir."

This is also the case with a recent execution in Virgina where the last words of Edward N. Bell were:

"You definitely have the wrong person. The truth will come out one day."

While none of those statements is evidence, even when a confession has been given as to the murder of others, it does create a scenario where we should wonder...I've often said/written in these debates regarding the death penalty that when you discover you've wrongly convicted a person and they are in jail, you can set them free, that while you can't give them their life back during the time they spent in prison; that if they have been executed, what can you do? Dig them up and apologize? It's rather pointless...

Things I should have done this week...

We have a car again, well...kind of...It's not running yet, but there is a 1994 Chrysler New Yorker that is just waiting for some mechanical TLC that will hopefully only be the starter that needs to be replaced, sitting at my house. When my one daughter asked me how it drove (she forgot it didn't run) I told her, well, we can say it tows well. :-) I needed to start checking parts prices which...well I didn't do.

The one thing I didn't miss about not having a car was car insurance, though the wonderful former insurance company we had seemed to feel it was necessary to report my husband for canceling our last policy. I don't know about you but traditionally when you can't replace the car that was completely totaled by meeting "Mr. Bear" and they know it was totaled since they paid off the loan, you don't need car insurance on that vehicle any more. This will create a need for free insurance quotes again because after the hassle we had to go through with the State, I'll never go with that insurance company again. The first notice we called the State who said we had to call the former insurance company, they claimed they notified the state that the violation notice was in error. The State then suspended my husband's driver's license for not having an insurance on a car that was scrapped...Thankfully it was resolved not that it really mattered at the time since he didn't have a car to drive anyway...At least with this car? Any Bears better look out, this time the car might win as opposed to Mr. Bear...

Michael Meyers being removed from NAACP meeting generates no media?

When I started reading Cartoon Protest Pits NAACP Against Free Speech by Nat Hentoff at first I thought he had to be wrong. I couldn't imagine a scenario where this could happen:

Attending the NAACP's annual meeting in the ballroom of the New York Hilton Hotel, Meyers rose following a member's speech calling for a boycott of the New York Post but also of all the national enterprises of its owner, Rupert Murdock. At the microphone, addressing Chairman Julian Bond, Meyers began: "I wish to speak in opposition."

"I do not recognize you," Bond sharply cut off the NAACP's former assistant director and personal assistant to Roy Wilkins. "Your views are not welcomed here."

Bond cut off his microphone and summoned security personnel as the NAACP's new president, the youngest in its history, Benjamin Jealous, sat silently.

What were Meyers views that were not welcome?

"All political pundits deserve a wide berth for social criticism and for parodying and poking fun at and criticizing our political leaders, no matter the skin color or race of the public official."

I thought perhaps I missed the reporting of this since I'd been buried in local fare, but there is nothing out there, only Hentoff's piece. Meyers no stranger to controversy with the NAACP, back in 1994:

Michael Meyers, executive director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition, said the N.A.A.C.P. should again distance itself from radical positions like those of Louis Farrakhan, minister of the Nation of Islam. Under Mr. Chavis, the civil rights group made overtures to Mr. Farrakhan, resulting in some loss of support. "It was an impeachable offense," Mr. Meyers said. "What he did was radicalize and racialize an organization that has always been known for its moderateness and thoughtfulness."

Mr. Meyers, a former assistant director of the N.A.A.C.P., was one who most strongly opposed Mr. Chavis for entering into what he called a "sacred covenant with that apostle of hate and anti-Semitism." Much of the N.A.A.C.P.'s financial support, Mr. Meyers said, comes from whites and foundations that will not endorse a black isolationist agenda.

"It was imperative of those who believed in the N.A.A.C.P. to fight back when they saw the organization being hijacked by black extremists," Mr. Meyers said.

Or 1986:

But a former official, Michael Meyers, challenged the organization's policies, saying the N.A.A.C.P. was not controlled by black Americans but supported by white-run corporations.

It's interesting that those issues raised by Meyers got media coverage and this incident considering the huge amount of media attention given the NY Post cartoon, has not...

Kinds of things I do when I'm not here...

This is a local story, but for those of you who read here and don't read my local blog, Fox Toledo has asked me to come on from time to time, probably twice a month, to do a segment that they call "Rant & Rave" - this was my first time. It's clear I have a bit to go to develop good teleprompter reading skills. This story on Connecting Point has been one I've been trying to push as far as getting someone, our local government especially to do an investigation into claims of possible financial mismanagement and try to bring more attention to the plight of the employees who got a pretty raw deal.